Frozen
by Crazy4Carlisle
Summary: What if Bella fell into a coma after jumping from the cliff?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The shrill ring of the cell phone startled Edward from his meditative state at the window of his rented room. His inn overlooked the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Beneath him lay one of the most vibrant and busiest markets in the city.

Edward debated with himself whether to let it ring; he wasn't in the mood for a conversation. But then he thought that it might be a concerned Carlisle or Esme calling to check if he was still sane. When Edward picked up his silver cell phone, he saw the unlikeliest of names to be calling him. It was Rosalie, the only sibling he almost never got along with. She thought him as an arrogant know-it-all, he thought her shallow and selfish, it was a mutual agreement that they both shared that they did not in any way or form, enjoy each others company.

So Edward pressed the talk button to answer and did not say anything. He heard the sound of her voice,

"Edward?... Edward I know you are listening, so the least you can do is answer me."

Edward for a moment was not sure if he still could talk, it had been months since he let out a word, so he said, quite ghostly-like,

"Yes Rose, what is it?"

"Where are you?" She asked, uncharacteristic concern lacing her voice.

Edward did not respond, afraid that giving her his location would result in an unexpected visit from his family, something he could not handle at the moment.

Rosalie sighed and said, "Mom and dad think you're going to do something drastic. Try and hurt yourself, or something along those lines. You must come home Edward, for their sakes and for the sake of your family."

"I can't," Edward whispered.

"Why? Is it because of that human girl, really, you're going to let a break-up with fragile teenager destroy you? Do you forget that it was your decision to leave? Now you have to live with your decisions."

"I did not want to leave her, I love her Rose." Edward replied, wondering why he was still discussing this with her, this conversation was going nowhere.

"It was nothing more than a dream brother. She will die, you will not; that's the end of it."

"She still has a life t0 live." Edward said.

"Are you so sure? Alice had a vision…" Rosalie drifted off, obviously contemplating how much information she should give.

"What?" Edward asked sharply.

"It's about Bella. She tried to commit suicide."

A/N: Hello readers. I can't believe it has been a year now since I've written any twilight fan fictions. I am so glad to finally be starting again. I really hope that if you do decide to read it you give me some feedback in the review section. Like I said, really happy to be back to the Twilight fan fic community, school has been hectic, now I need a break. Enjoy;)


	2. One rainy day in Forks

**Chapter 1- One Rainy day in Forks**

For a century, Edward had longed for a companion; one that he could share an eternity with. His coven was made up of three obviously perfect soul mates, which didn't exactly make things easier. Over the years, he had watched each of their loves blossom and grow, it tormented him. First it was Carlisle and Esme, then Rosalie and Emmett, and finally Alice and Jasper, yet throughout this he stood alone. For the past couple decades he had completely given up on the hope of the same kind of love, how could a monster like himself, forced to know the darkest thoughts of human and vampire nature alike, ever have the capability to love the same way his family did? And then Bella came along, like a gentle flower that fell atop a wretched stormy sea and somehow found a way to float atop its surface, living in harmony with the darkness and the rough winds and the rain.

He was not prepared for his feelings for her; he tried to fight against them, for he knew the consequences if he didn't. But he could not separate himself from her, she was so defenceless and breakable, it made him stronger. But the reality of his nature and that of his families, particularly Jasper's, caught up with him. He realized he had no other choice, he broke her heart and left her, along with every taste of joy he'd experienced, every chance he had at happiness, all washed away.

Now here he was, standing outside of the Forks hospital, in the rain, wearing nothing but a hooded grey sweatshirt and a pair of dark navy denim pants and sneakers. His wet hair was just as dark as his clothes. To the unknowing pedestrians and passers by, he was a handsome looking 17 year old teenager who just needed a comb and perhaps a bit more sun. For the most part they walked by, wondering what he was doing in the rain, not recognizing him as one of the Cullen boys that had lived in town only a few months ago. That used to be the boyfriend of the dying girl in one of those hospital beds.

He forced himself to follow her scent all the way to the third floor and to a room. It was her room; Edward stood on the other side of the wall beside the door, and shut his eyes tightly. He needed to prepare himself.

"I'll be right back sweetheart," Edward's eyes opened as he heard a voice which could only belong to Renee. He remembered it from the time James tried to kill Bella, and she came to see her daughter in the hospital.

There was no audible response from Bella.

Edward walked away from the doorway, hiding his face so Renee did not recognize him, and then waited until she was out of sight.

There were flowers and cards everywhere, the white curtains surrounded her bed. He could only hear the beeping of a ventilator machine; he knew exactly what it was for but didn't want to believe it. He pulled the curtain back just enough for one eye to see her, and a lump rose in his throat.

There she was, his only love lying there. She was in a totally oblivious state, hooked up to the machine because her very survival depended on it. He fell to his knees beside her bed and with a shaky hand he stroked her long chestnut hair. He was not at all prepared for seeing her like this, more fragile than before, and all because he had abandoned her.

"Oh, my Bella," He whispered hoping she would hear it and open her eyes, but she didn't. Her heart was beating so slowly, he rested his ear to her chest, listening to any possible change in tempo, there was none.

Suddenly, he heard Renee coming back and he stood up. Smoothing down her wrinkled sheets, he said softly,

"I'll be back love, please wait for me," Then he slipped out of the room and left the hospital as fast as he could at a human pace.

**~o~o~o~**

Edward came upon a familiar forest on a hill, lilacs and ancient trees were all in his presence, and they brought back heart tugging memories. He reached a hidden roadway on the outskirts of town which he had driven up too many times to count. It lead to a 3 story white house, entirely shaded by cedar trees. He could hear the Sol Duc River running past the rear of the house and through the wall of glass, he could see his Imperial grand Piano on the second floor, its keys untouched, it's surface unscathed as if he had never left.

When Edward reached the front porch he was overcome by the feeling that he was not alone and realized that he had been correct all along.

When Edward opened the unlocked door to the tidy, open space of his house, he found himself standing face to face with his entire family.

A/N: So Edward's back in Forks finally and it's no surprise that his family just happened to be there waiting for him. I've written the next couple chapters I just need to edit them but trust me, things are going to escalate pretty quickly from here. Also this was another one of my short chapters because it's only chapter 1; the next one is going to be pretty long.


	3. Repressed Memories

**Chapter 2~ Repressed Memories**

They were all looking at him as if he was a subject in a lab, a specimen to be studied carefully. Esme was first to react,

"Oh Edward, we're so glad you're home," She strode toward him and pulled him into a hug, he did not return the affection. He was too stunned and numb from the last 24 hours.

Alice was next to speak,

"Oh Edward we were so worried about you," she crashed into him, hugging him. "I can't believe Rosalie would tell you about Bella over the phone."

"It was the only way he would come back Alice," Rosalie said with a flick of her hair. "You should be thanking me."

"Rosalie, be considerate of the dreadful circumstances which brought us here," Esme scolded.

Emmett walked past Rosalie and patted Edward on the shoulder, rough as usual, but with a little more affection than was normal for him to give to his brother.

"Welcome back bro," He said.

Edward looked at the back of the room sitting on the stairs with his head down was Jasper.

Edward's eyes moved around the room, and then they rested on Carlisle's golden ones. His father looked back at him; his thoughts were mixed with relief that he was seeing him in plain sight again, and fear of what was to come. Carlisle did not want to guess what Bella's current condition was, or what her death may cost him, if it ever came to that.

Carlisle walked towards Edward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

_Welcome home son,_ Carlisle said mentally, his warm eyes almost looked worn and tired. It filled Edward with guilt.

_Flashback_

_Carlisle gazed out of the window of his family's cottage in Colorado. He watched his wife as she tirelessly worked on her stunning garden. He had known her long enough to know that she found peace in the company of her flowers and the mid-day light. He knew that she always managed to retreat there when something troubled her. And Carlisle knew she was troubled, they all were. That was the reason Rosalie and Emmett decided to take another honey moon, and why Alice and Jasper chose to go their own way for the time being. Their large family had been reduced to 3, and right now, none of them were getting along very well. With a son who took refuge in his room, torturing himself by staying in the dark, thinking of _her _endlessly, it was taking a toll on Carlisle's relationship with Esme._

_Esme reached to wrap a piece of the vines around the white garden fence which she was tending to outside. She suddenly felt arms around her waist and a soft, cool breath on her neck. Carlisle's lips caressed it, sending her body into a frenzy. She resisted however, she was in no mood for playful embraces. She wanted to be alone. She turned and faced Carlisle, softly pulling away. He looked down at her, taking her slender hands in his._

"_Come back to me Esme. I don't want it to be like this."_

_The sun shone down on his golden hair, and lit up his skin like a diamond shard. Somehow Esme could not will herself to turn away from him, no matter how troubled her mind was. She gave in, they embraced and the world around them seemed to fall away. _

_The kisses got more and more passionate. She grabbed his neck forcefully. He pulled her tighter pushing her against the birch tree, then his lips moved down to her neck, kissing the faint scar from when he bit her to turn her into a vampire. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes again, her hands moved up to grasp his hair. Carlisle suddenly sensed another presence, he heard movement behind the fence. He stopped kissing her, and looked up to see behind the vines, nothing but the rustling trees of the forest amidst the pathway to the lake._

_Esme looked up at him with worried eyes, _

"_What is it Carlisle? What do you see?"_

_He did not hear her immediately. It took him a moment to look down at her and process the question. _

"_It's nothing,"he replied._

"_Is Edward still in his room?" Esme asked._

"_I don't think he is," Carlisle replied, his eyes travelling up to the window of Edward's room. _

_He absentmindedly pulled away from his wife, and ran inside the house up to his son's room. He stood outside the door for a moment and then poked his head in to find it, dark and empty; the window was left wide open. Esme was there in a flash. She knelt down beside the duffel bag sitting in the middle of the floor. She unzipped it to find that it was packed with everything he would need to travel. Clothing, money, his human father's watch, his mother's ring; Edward had purposely left it there to get the message across. He was leaving. _

_There was a long pause, both of them were thinking the same thing,_

"_He'll come back," Esme said. "Then we will talk him out of this."_

"_Esme, I have to see him now, something is wrong."_

"_Of course something is wrong Carlisle. That is why all the others left; maybe this separation will be good for him," Esme said, standing up._

_Carlisle pinched the bridge of his nose, "Believe me it will only get worse if he leaves. Misery thrives in solitude."_

"_You don't know that," she whispered reaching out to touch his arm._

"_Of course, I know my own son Esme," Carlisle snapped, pulling his arm away._

_Esme looked at him with hurt and frustration in her eyes. Carlisle wished he could take back what he said. She walked passed him, leaving the room._

"_Esme," Carlisle said apologetically as she brushed past him. _

_He was left standing in an empty room once again. He picked up Edward's scent, and strode towards the open window. Edward stood outside, he looked up at Carlisle with a blank expression. _

_Carlisle sighed and waited for Edward to climb back up. As soon as Edward was in the room, he stood in front of his window, facing Carlisle. Carlisle said,_

"_Remember when you came back after the years you left Esme and I without so much as giving a word to when you would return? You made a promise then, that it would never happen again. Now it seems history is repeating itself."_

"_I remember Carlisle," Edward replied sulking down onto his couch. "But I don't know what else to do to escape this... grief inside of me. It's been two months and I don't feel any better. I can see I am only going to be a burden from now on, I've already driven a wedge between you and Esme."_

"_That's not true-" _

"_Of course it's true!" Edward shot back, springing up. "I can still hear your thoughts and Esme's, you may not think I'm listening but I am! I'm tearing this family apart and everyone knows it," Edward said, looking at his bag on the floor, then reaching for it. _

_Carlisle placed his hand on Edward's arm which reached for the bag and looked at him one last time, but Edward pulled out of his grasp and headed down the stairs, Carlisle followed. _

"_Edward, don't leave, not like this," Carlisle said. _

"_I have to. It's for the sake of everyone." Edward stopped in his tracks and turned to face Carlisle. His eyes were wild and full of rashness. Like he had been pushed to far to the edge and was about to explode. He strode towards Carlisle and said in a hushed, almost apologetic tone,_

"_You have Esme. You have the others. Promise me you will let me go; for their sakes. I have to face this alone." _

_Carlisle put a hand on his shoulder and thought about it for a moment. He did not verbally reply but Edward already knew the message he was conveying,_

"I can't promise that Edward. But I will let you leave, for as long as you need to. Just promise you won't do anything drastic?" Carlisle thought.

_Before Edward could answer, he heard another voice,_

"_Edward wait," Esme said as she came back into the room. "You're..." For a minute Carlisle thought she would ask him to stay. "You're not leaving without saying goodbye are you?"_

_It was then that Carlisle knew he had to accept his decision to leave, if that was what Edward thought would help him; he had no choice but to accept it._

_Edward hugged her and they said their goodbyes._

_Before he left, Edward stopped at the door; he did not bother turning his head to look at them. It was as if he had already distanced himself emotionally._

"_I cannot keep that promise... Goodbye father."_

_Then with a hollow sound of a swirl of wind, the doorway was empty._

_He was gone._


	4. Breaking Point

**Chapter 3~ Breaking Point**

Edward was not himself anymore, he could barely even remember his way around the house, the only thing he had on his mind was Bella lying there, unmoving in a hospital bed.

Edward followed wordlessly as he was led by Esme and Alice to his room. He mindlessly did all that they told him, only half listening. They gave him some new clothes and he went to his bathroom and took a shower without thinking, then changed into them without so much as a thought.

Alice eventually went downstairs, saddened by Edward's cathartic, catatonic state and Esme stayed to unpack his things. By evening time everyone had drifted off into their own separate worlds. Emmett watched TV downstairs, Jasper joined quietly in the background. Alice was with Jasper, keeping her troubled mate's company. His thoughts were full of guilt; he knew it was his fault that all of this had happened in the first place. If he hadn't lost control and tried to attack Bella, surely Edward would not have decided to leave for fear of her safety. But Edward wasn't angry with Jasper. No longer did he resent his limited control but at the moment, he didn't feel like discussing it with him. Rose was at the table by the TV, painting her nails. Esme did laundry nearby.

Carlisle knocked Edward's the door, there was no response. He opened it and a strange sensation of déjà vu came over him. Edward was in a pitch black room; he was curled up on half his couch, lying like a corpse. This was exactly the state he was in following the weeks after they had left Forks. It seemed now they were back together as a family and little has changed from before.

Carlisle flicked on the lamp switch and sat next to Edward on the other end of the couch. Edward had still not moved and Carlisle wondered if he even processed that he was there. He decided to speak aloud, just in case Edward's mind had shut out all outside thoughts.

"I've arranged to work at the hospital again. I've made it clear that Bella Swan be one of my patients. I thought you should know that I looked at her files," Carlisle said.

Edward opened his eyes and slowly sat up, stiffly, as if he had been lying like that for a thousand years. He looked ahead at his wall of cds and books with wide black eyes, a sign of thirst.

Carlisle continued while Edward listened to his thoughts; _she jumped off a cliff and hit her head on the rocks. The cranial CT scan reported extensive fracture of the frontal and left parietal bone. There were also multiple areas of bilateral cerebral contusion. You know what that may mean for her if she is ever to come out of her coma. She could potentially lose her memory. On what degree I'm not yet sure, but I promise you I will do all I can to keep her alive. But there is only so much I can do if things don't go as planned. _

Carlisle stood up and walked towards the French doors of Edward's room, where the wall had been removed for easy access to the surrounding forest.

_Her father is dead. No one knows what happened; an investigation is still being done surrounding the attack. It was recent, a few days before she got injured._

Edward's lips parted and he felt as if the world had slipped from beneath him. Charlie was gone, and Edward was too, she was left with no one when she should have had him there for her.

"If Bella's body fails her, there is always another way," said Carlisle.

"What do you mean?" Edward asked, he tensed, feeling a horrible feeling growing inside of him.

"I mean that we still have other options to consider, if we want to save her." Carlisle replied.

With the hollow sound of wind, Edward sprung at his unsuspecting father at vampire speed; the force at which Edward attacked caused them both to fall out of the room, down three stories to the grass below. Carlisle landed on his back in surprise at the unexpected turn of events.

Before Carlisle could get up to stop him, Edward bit into his neck, and he hissed in pain. Edward could have then done further damage, but he felt arms around him, he was pulled off. Edward fought against the interferers and with his freed hand and he bit into one of their arms as hard as he could. He didn't even hear the bone shattering scream, which echoed off the trees. Then he heard the sound of a female voice and he lost focus for a minute. This was the point in which he was immediately pinned down, still struggling against his tormentors.

A soft hand was on his face and he recognized the urgent voice,

"Edward please calm down, stop struggling, it's me," Edward looked at the female over him, stroking his face to calm him, he was in another place, so much that he could not recall who the woman was, but knew unconsciously that she was no danger to him.

"Esme you must get away from him, he's not himself," said another familiar, male voice. Her presence vanished.

The man was somewhere behind him. From where Edward lay he could not see him, this made him uneasy and he thrashed about again, but the arms gripping him were too strong and he just saw more unrecognizable faces. He tried to fight against them, but felt more hands on him, so he fought harder. It was no use; Edward could not get free of their grip.

"Stop it Edward. Stop struggling son," It was a different voice, and then his brain snapped back on, it was Carlisle's.

Edward froze, and he let his arms fall limp and his head fall back onto the grass. He was released. He sat up and turned his head to see the destruction he'd brought within only hours of returning home. His eyes were wide as he got to his feet, he felt as if he'd been punched in the gut by the sight.

Carlisle was now clutching onto his burning neck, which had been viciously cut by razor sharp teeth. He went to examine Emmett, whose arm had been flung into the trees. Alice was next to Emmett who was beside himself in pain. Edward could barely get out his next words, he was so stunned.

"Oh my God, Carlisle I'm-"

Rosalie seemed to come out of nowhere when she said,

"Nice going Edward. Really are you crazy? What is wrong with you?!"

Right now, he was asking himself the same exact questions as she was. He felt physically and mentally weak and he was still not thinking rationally. He just noticed how much his throat was burning and his hands shot up to clutch his neck. He had not drank any blood in at least a month and that, combined with Bella's situation and the thought of Bella being turned into a vampire, was taking a toll on him, and his family.

"Hey," She said. Edward felt a hard nudge to his shoulder. She pointed at her mate,"LOOK."

Edward was speechless, he didn't know a vampire could be so "out of it" until now.

"Rosalie," Carlisle warned.

"He had it coming Carlisle, someone had to bring him back to planet earth for heaven's sake," Rosalie replied.

Edward was steadying himself with the wall of the house. He didn't like the way he was thinking right now, it scared him. To think that he could barely control his emotions, he didn't know what to do so he did the first thing that felt right to him. He fled the destructive scene, disappearing into the forest.


	5. Matters of the Family

**Chapter 4~ Matters of the Family**

Words could not describe how Edward felt for the evening's turn of events. Carlisle had spoken the dreadful words of Bella being turned into what he was, and he saw red. Then he had just about borderline lost his mind. And the worse thing was, Bella was no better and he was weighed down further by the added guilt that her attempted suicide had brought. This day could not have gotten worse.

He ran through the trees at the fastest speed he could. He was faster than his family; they would not catch up with him if did not stop. He couldn't go back, it was impossible after all he'd done. It felt good to run again, he hadn't truly ran for some time now.

Then as Edward leapt over the creek, he felt the idiocy of his actions. He needed to see Bella, and as long as he remained in Forks to do so, he could not hide from his family.

He'd wished that he had never left her; he wished he could take everything back, and then none of this would have happened. He clenched his fists and found himself striking out against the bark of a tree, which he splintered and shattered with ease. He was on his feet now, making sure it felt the same pain and destruction he felt inside of him. It wasn't until the giant tree finally collapsed, falling to the ground, crushing all other plants in its path, that he realized, that if he was human he may have been crying right now. He could feel the phantom tears that threatened to come, he'd long forgotten what that felt like, he had gone so many years feeling next to nothing.

He sunk down to the forest floor, he'd never felt so lost in his life.

He heard the cracking sound of branches beneath someone's feet and then he picked up the scent. He tilted his head behind him, just enough to see out of the corner of his eye, like he needed to, to know who it was. Emerging from the trees was Jasper, the most unlikely of all his family he'd expected to follow him here.

He looked cautious, unsure of what to say to his obviously damaged brother.

_Um, Carlisle wanted me to find you. They were concerned._

Edward looked away from him. They were concerned for him? Worried after what he'd done not 20 minutes ago? Edward found the thought amusing. He let out what he recognized as a laugh. It startled both of them. Edward came to the conclusion that he must have truly lost his mind. At this point however, he didn't particularly care.

In silence Edward got up and ran, but not to get away this time. He came to what was a usual hunting spot when the family was in Forks, because there was plenty of wildlife and no human activity. He tracked down a few deer, and he drank thirstily. Edward felt his strength returning, his mind clearing up.

Jasper also took the opportunity to hunt and had gotten full faster than Edward. He waited as Edward finished off one unlucky deer and then said,

"Man, for someone who was so thirsty earlier, you sure had your strength."

Edward glared at Jasper with a, "rather not talk about it" look.

"Okay I get it, but it's just, I was worried about you when you were gone. Heck we all were, and I couldn't stop wondering if we had left things at a good note or not," Jasper said, hinting to Bella's birthday incident.

Edward looked down at his recent prey and replied,

"I've long since forgiven you Jasper. It would be wrong of me to blame you for something you have little control over, and besides; I knew all along my relationship with Bella would self destruct sometime anyway."

Jasper nodded, "So we're good?"

"Now we are" Edward said, playfully pushing Jasper's head, sending him stumbling down before he could regain his balance.

Edward's smile lasted only about half a second. He felt guilty for it when he remembered that his only love was on the verge of life and death. Eventually Phil had to go back to work and it was only a matter of time before gloomy Forks grew to be too much for Renee to handle. He would find a way to see her again.

They came back to the house, entering through the side door. Edward knew instantly that his family were gathered already in the unofficial meeting room of the house. Carlisle was sitting at the end of the table and motioned them to take a seat; of course Edward had to get the seat at the other end of the table. Everyone was staring at him. Emmett was still in the library recovering and groaning from the pain in his arm and shoulder.

Once Edward and Jasper were seated, Carlisle spoke,

"Well I have gathered all of you hear not only because of the obviously distressing circumstances that occurred earlier this evening-"

"Carlisle I've been wanting to apologi-" Edward started but Carlisle raised his hand to silence him.

"No need Edward, I can look past the actions and consider your state mentally at the time, which I assume is better now that you've hunted?" He said, noting at Edward's bright golden eyes.

"Yes," Edward replied.

"Good, now I want to discuss a more important dilemma at hand. The cause of Edward's recent outburst was because I was careless enough to bring up the option of Bella becoming a vampire at such an inconvenient time for Edward."

"What?" Rosalie gasped.

"Hear me out," Carlisle said. "I've looked at Bella's medical files and the chances of her brain failing are too high to ignore. That blow to her head is causing major difficulties. It's possible that if she does come out of her state, there is little chance of her making full recovery, she may never able to function without medical assistance."

Edward put his head in his hands, not wanting to hear anymore.

"As we all know, I made the decision to change all of you apart from Alice and Jasper, with full knowledge that you would surely die if you were left human. The convenient part about all this, which differs from all of your circumstances, is that we know Bella has always expressed a desire to become one of us. So what I am proposing, is that if the chances of Bella not surviving become too great, I can make the choice, like I did all of you, to turn her into a vampire, making her apart of the coven," Carlisle said.

"But that's ridiculous; she's just some human girl, why should we keep her?"Rosalie questioned.

"You know just as well as any of us that it's much more serious that changing any other human," Carlisle said. "Edward has proven to us that he is unable to live his life without her whatsoever. He will die for her, and I'm afraid he'll die with her as well."

"You're not saying...?" Esme said.

"I'm afraid I am Esme, Edward knows the only way for him to die is by provoking the Volturi, and Volterra is far too close for my liking. Does anyone have anything to add before we vote on making Bella's immortality become an option?" Carlisle said.

"Wait!" Edward protested. "What if she does not forgive me for leaving her and then you turn her and she is forced to live out an eternity in the same coven with a man she used to love but now loathes? Imagine what that would be like."

"Edward has a point," Rosalie said.

"Would you really rather lose her Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"I've already lost her Carlisle, it would change nothing."

There was a dead silence.

"Let's take a vote now, starting with you Esme. Yes or no to Bella becoming a vampire should she be on the verge of death," Carlisle said.

"Yes," Esme said.

Edward groaned, putting his head down into his arms.

"Alice?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes," she said.

"Jasper?"

He paused for a moment; Edward peeked out of his arms, looking at him with a spark of hope. Jasper looked at his brother apologetically.

"I vote yes," Jasper replied.

Carlisle turned to face Edward, "Edward, your vote?"

"This isn't fair at all. It's my choice alone; I would be the only one here losing her if she died!" Edward shouted.

"That's not true," Alice said. "I love Bella, she was my friend. I never wanted to leave her; I only did it for your sake. You think you are the only one grieving her? Well your wrong."

"What is your vote Edward?" Carlisle asked once again.

Edward sat back in his seat, "No."

"I vote no as well," Rose said.

"Would you rather she die?!" Alice said.

"Either way she is already dead!" Edward shot back.

"Well guess what, I had a vision of Bella being turned into a vampire when you where still off pouting so you may as well accept it!" She said, mentally throwing images of her vision at him.

"WELL there we have it, Bella can be turned into a vampire whether or not Emmett votes no or yes so there will be no further discussion about this, agreed you two?" Carlisle asked, getting up from his seat.

"I agree," Alice replied.

Edward stood up from his seat as well, and gave Carlisle a look of complete hatred. Then he turned and ran off into the cold night.


	6. A Long Night

**Chapter 5 ~ A Long Night**

It was long past visiting hours and surely Renee would have gone back to the hotel by now. Edward snuck by the emergency entrance of the hospital, to the field at the east side of the hospital where Bella's room was, all the way on the 3rd floor. Carlisle had called him on his cell numerous times, but Edward ignored the ringing.

Edward climbed as fast as he could, not wanting to risk being seen, and stood in the shadows of the roof, in front of her window. He saw her lying there. The moonlight reflecting off her ivory skins, making her appear even more beautiful and fragile.

_Edward_ it was unmistakable who he heard calling him _come down from the roof._

"Damn," Edward said under his breath, it was Carlisle.

Edward considered arguing back. He did not want to leave, but just did what he was told instead; figuring he had caused enough trouble for one day already and Carlisle still had a sting in his neck and a new scar to remind him. Edward looked at Bella one last time, then climbed down quickly and spotted his father leaned against his black Mercedes in the parking lot. Carlisle eyed him and then got in the driver's side. Edward sat in the passenger's seat begrudgingly, now he just felt like a petulant teenager, rather than the immortal vampire he was.

Carlisle pulled out of the parking lot, driving down the dark and quiet road.

"I called you," Carlisle said.

"I know, I should have answered." Edward replied.

"I was thinking we should lay low for a while. After all, the entire town knows you about you and Bella and the things that happened to her not long after we left. It could cause unneeded attention," Carlisle said. "Climbing up a 3 story wall onto the hospital roof, using nothing but unnatural strength, knowing full well there are cameras around, is not my idea of lying low. What if you were seen? This is the second time you've risked our family being exposed because of her Edward. The first time when she was about to be killed by that van I let it slide, but this is just outrageous. If we are discovered, on tape of all things and it came to the attention of the Volturi, we would all be held responsible."

"I know," said Edward.

"Aro sees our coven as a threat, he would be more than happy to have an excuse to get rid of us; our old friendship only carries so much weight."

"I'm sorry," Edward said, and he really did mean it.

Carlisle sighed, the humanly stressed look from earlier, returning to his features.

"It seems like you've been saying that a lot of late. Why don't we just put the day behind us. Tomorrow, I start at the hospital at 6:30. It's before visiting hours but I'm sure I can arrange something."

"Thank you Carlisle," said Edward.

They pulled into the garage, getting out of the car.

_I'm afraid not all of us are going to be able to forget the day's events for a while, _Carlisle told him, going into the house. Then Edward remembered, Emmett.

Edward sped inside, making his way to the room where Emmett lay on the couch, a book in hand. It was a rare sight to see his brawny brother reading. On the table beside him, his torn arm was bandaged to his body.

"Alright Emmett, how's it coming along?" Carlisle asked, untying the bandage revealing a jagged line tracing the shoulder. Edward smelled the venom; it was still working its way throughout the damaged limb.

"Still sucks," Emmett replied.

"Well it looks like it's well aligned, can you move it?" Carlisle asked.

"I can move my fingers fine, but anything higher than my hand is a no," Emmett said. "So when do you think I'll be able to use my arm again? And when is this annoying burning going to stop?"

"Sorry Em, looks like it'll be a few more hours." Carlisle replied. "Call me if you need anything and whatever you do, don't move, doctor's orders."

"Uh okay fine." Emmett said and Carlisle left the room.

"Rose?" Emmett called.

Edward walked in and sat down in a separate chair.

"Well you are not who I was expecting," said Emmett. "Come in here to yank my other arm off?"

"I came here to apologize; I really don't know what came over me."

Emmett was silent for a few seconds, then closed the book in hand and then replied, "I get it man; I mean it must be tough, talking about her in her condition."

"It still doesn't excuse my actions," Edward said.

"Come on Eddie, you and I both know I had it coming after decades of trying to get a rise out of you," said Emmett, knowing he detested the nickname, 'Eddie'.

Edward smiled. That was one this he liked most about Emmett, he didn't hold grudges.

"I was listening to the meeting and for what it's worth Edward, I don't really think Carlisle cares as much about Bella's mortality or immortal as much as he wants to keep you around for as long as he can. Just try and take that into account. He's only looking out for you, we all are," he said.

"He seems to be taking very drastic measures to do just that," Edward said.

"Well remember, you weren't there to see the after effects of when you left," said Emmett, remembering the gloominess of the place, the unusual arguments and blame game played between Carlisle and Esme. It all felt so wrong to Edward. How could his leaving be so damaging?

After a while Edward got up and headed for the door. He could her that Rose was going to come keep his brother's company soon and he didn't want to be here for it.

_Edward?_ Emmett thought before Edward opened the door.

"Yes?"

_Maybe next time you should hunt before starting a serious conversation. You might lower your chances of trying to assassinate your whole coven; just saying._

Edward smirked, "I'll try and remember that for next time."

Then he plopped down on his mattress of the couch in his room, he longed to be able to sleep; to get his mind of the past couple tumultuous hours. But instead he simply waited until he could see Bella again.

A/N: So within the first day of returning home Edward's already made a pretty big mess of things, but who can blame him? The next chapter is basically where all the action begins. The only hint I will give is that a certain lady vampire will be making quite the appearance. I will update soon ;), promise you won't be disappointed; there is to be a major twist ahead.


	7. Ambushed

**Chapter 6 - Ambushed**

The forest did not stir that cold, misty morning. Edward usually wandered deep in the woods, away from the voices and thoughts of his family before dawn. It was his favourite time, just when the dew formed on the leaves and most humans were still asleep, he found solace in the calm. He couldn't see the sun through the mist that formed a thick cloud around the trees. He could never be completely sure when sun would decide to grace its presence over this normally dark and rugged town.

The upper levels of the hospital were also quiet at this time. All that could be heard was the beeping of machines, rustling of papers and hushed small talk among nursing staff on the floor.

Bella's health had shown little change. Edward was always reluctant to leave her side. He could hear the thoughts of the cleaning women on the same wing as her,

_Oh poor boy, must be his high school sweetheart. Handsome though, he'll have no problem finding someone else..._

Edward ignored the comments. _If only they knew,_ he would think. He tried pretending that it was just like when he used to spend the nights with her in her bedroom, while she slept. It was really not much different when he thought of it like that. He hummed her familiar lullaby and spoke his words of warmth that he could offer her, until visiting hours came and he knew that Renee and probably Phil would show up. Then Edward had to say a farewell and vanish out of the hospital.

That was his life for the next few weeks, everything Edward had seemed to revolve around Bella, his sadness, his anger, even his joy. But the thing he found strange was, out of his entire separation from her, thinking that she was moving on with her life, healthy and safe, that he had never felt more alive than he did now even with her life hanging by a thread. Just being with her was enough.

He warmed up more to his family, but was still the cold lonely soul he was before. They tried to involve him, to get his mind off of things, and for the most part he tried to please them, but he couldn't manage to play practical jokes with his brothers or tease and brawl with them like he used to, so most of the time they left him alone.

Edward wandered through the forest like a forgotten spirit, wasting away an eternity in an ever-changing world, one that cared little for a dead soul's grief over his only love.

Suddenly he stopped right in his tracks. His eyes scanned as much of the woods as his enhanced vision could, through the thick haze of mist. He could not see anyone, but he knew what he heard. It was thoughts, directed at him and he had an idea of whose they were.

_Did you miss me? You honestly thought I was gone forever, really, after you and your coven slaughtered my mate? I can see you're not taking your human's current "condition" so well, are you?._

It was no doubt Victoria. Edward could sense her presence moving closer and closer as her thoughts got louder. She was moving in all different directions, circling him.

He couldn't see himself in her thoughts, so he knew she was not close enough to get a view of him. But he picked up her scent, frustrated that he was physically unable to see her face to face. His senses were instinctual and heightened, he had to destroy her before she got anywhere near Bella. Right now, he was the hunter, she was his prey.

_I'll bet you don't know what it would feel like to have her stolen from you and believe me, when I take her life you will know. I'll make sure you know..._

Then he saw her shadow which flashed within the trees, far away. He was faster than her; he would catch her within a millisecond if he got the chance.

Suddenly, a ringing sound from his cell phone broke the silence. With vampire speed he retrieved it from his pocket and read the screen, it was from Carlisle,

**Got a call from the hospital. She's awake. Will be there shortly.**

Edward had longed for this message for weeks now, and now all he felt was fear for her safety. He had one task, before he could see Bella again.

Then Edward felt Victoria crashing towards him from behind, he grabbed anything he could to get her off of him as they rolled downhill, denting massive trees with the force of their bodies. She was just as determined as he to do what damage they both intended. He wanted to destroy her, but what was strange about her attack was that she didn't want to kill him yet, she was hiding something and he knew it.

Edward lost focus for a moment when he picked up another vampire presence. Their thoughts were aimed at him, they were moving closer, fast. And then he realized, they had waited far away in hiding, for the perfect moment, they were on Victoria's side. He realized that he had to finish his kill sooner than he expected.

Victoria intended to twist his arm to tear it. She grabbed for him but predicted the move and at the speed of lightning, grabbed hold of her arm and she reacted by using her free arm to deliver a bone grinding blow to his rib. He would not let the pain distract him, he grabbed hold of her neck, and pulled with all the force he had in him.

"NOW RILEY," she managed to get out, and just like that, his victory was swept from underneath him when he lost all feeling in his limbs and he fell limp to the forest floor.

He fought desperately to regain his strength, but he could barely use his muscles to lift his head and get a glimpse of the powerful vampire doing this to him. It felt as if gravity had dramatically increased its pressure and had sealed him down to the earth.

Through Victoria's thoughts he saw a blonde boy, no more than twenty when he was changed. He seemed young and inexperienced, having no idea as to his leader's plans. Edward could see it in his eyes and thoughts as soon as the red-head seductress turned to reward him with a stroke of his cheek and whispered in his ear,

"Good, you know what you must do now, don't fail me."

He nodded to her like a loyal slave and suddenly, Edward felt a blindfold being shoved over his head.

The last thing he could see before everything went black was Victoria, staring down at him, smiling like a vixen and laughing a bubbly air of pleasure. He'd been ambushed, it was a carefully planned attack. He only now wished he'd warned Carlisle when he'd had the chance and now Bella was awake, but for how much longer, he couldn't bear to guess.

A/N: Thanks for all the awesome feedback I've gotten so far. Like I said, things are going to get even more heated and gruesome surrounding Victoria and Edward in particular. I've been working on the next couple chapters and you will be very interested to find out some of the plot lines I have decided on. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and would love to hear your thoughts ;)


	8. Mind Games

**Chapter 8 - Mind Games**

He'd been dragged through the forest by the newborns with their impossible strength. He had a blindfold on, but he could see everything through their minds. He knew the area so well however, that he barely needed his sight. He was taken to the caves in the west part of the forest. It was isolated and wet, not many humans came here, it was much too far and too deep, getting lost here was a death sentence.

Edward fought against the newborns, but it was no use, Riley would use the force of his powers to disable him, besides, the newborns had his arms twisted painfully and were crushing him in their grip. Suddenly he felt the rocky surface and the humid air of the cavern and his blindfold was ripped off.

"Victoria will be here soon with the girl," said Riley.

Edward turned his head to Riley and said, clenching his teeth in pain, "Can't you do something about this?" He said eyeing the one newborn vampire who still held him in a painful lock hold.

Riley hesitated.

"Are these theatrics really necessary? Obviously I'm not going anywhere," Edward said.

Riley looked to the newborn and said, "Fine, you can let him go."

The newborn grudgingly let go, he was enjoying his pain a little too much. Edward stood up straight and looked around. In the cave, there were four vampires, two male, one female, and Riley. He studied all of them carefully. He read their minds and saw a thirst that could only be a newborn thirst; the craving was teetering on the edge of madness. In Riley's mind, he saw no clear craving for blood, he must have been turned long before the others.

Edward stood against the opposite wall from them. He realized giving death glares would be no use; they would have expected anger. Instead, he singled out one of the newborns.

"Scott, is it?" He asked the youngest vampire, who was surprised that he knew his name.

The newborn, who must have been younger than Edward when he was turned, did not trust him. He didn't answer.

"Who turned you?" Edward asked, waiting for the answer in Scott's mind.

"Riley?" Edward said. "He found you wandering in the wrong part of town one night and bit you, didn't he? Then he trained you, along with all the other newborns he'd turned, intended to be one of Victoria's newborn slaves. Am I correct?"

"Ignore him," Riley ordered.

"It must be nice to be a part of a family, a coven which offers protection, security. A nice change seeing how your stepfather kicked you out leaving you stranded on the streets with nothing."

"How is he doing this," Scott said, angered by Edward's mental violation

"What about you? Jeanine, that's your name isn't it? Riley turned you too I presume. I'm assuming you were also out one night in a bad part of the city," Edward said to the dark-haired female.

"Don't even think about getting inside of my head," She spat back. She attempted blocking him out with her thoughts, it was no use.

The memories of her life flooded through Edward's head, one of the millions Edward unwillingly took with him from every person he came across.

"I can see that you sold sex for money as a teenager. You worked for a man who offered you what seemed to be a decent career at a fancy strip club, but it turned out to be a little less glamorous than what you'd expected. You started taking drugs to ease the pain and your life became a downhill spiral from there, until you no longer cared for anything. Then Riley came along, and offered you a family with Victoria and her newborns."

She looked away, wanting to here no more. Edward looked to the last newborn. He was the oldest no doubt, somewhere in his thirties.

"And Vince. You had a similar situation, no family,"

"You should know as well as I how it might feel to lose a mate. I heard you thinking of her on the way here. Her name's Tara, she's one of the other newborns. It's tragic that your love will be cut short when Victoria orders Riley to dispose of you both, when you become too difficult to control. Eventually, you and your lover will want to leave together, and then you will both be dest-."

"Remember what Victoria told all of you!" Riley said, cutting Edward off. "He's manipulates people, you have to fight against it. All he's doing is feeding you lies."

Edward could feel Riley's power as he pushed him to the ground with nothing but his mind, and once again Edward was disabled, but Riley's words were no use; Edward could see the newborn's loyalties being swayed. Edward gave up trying to physically fight against the force of it and stayed there on his knees, feeling a heavy weight on him, yet he still managed to speak.

"I don't manipulate minds, I hear thoughts. Think about it. What does each of you have in common? You were all seen by Riley as worthless humans who were good candidates to be turned into vampires. If you went missing, no one would notice. You are easily disposable slaves and if I were you, I would find a way to get out of the army Victoria seems to be building and save yourselves while you still have a chance. I can free you, Victoria wants me kept alive and I will kill her soon enough and spare your lives. But, if you choose not to help me, all of you will be dead before we are through, I promise."

Judging by the looks on their faces, it was clear Edward was winning.

"Victoria's will be here any moment, forget what he said and restrain him. It is three against one, there is no way he will kill you with your strength," Riley ordered.

Scott, Jeanine and Vince looked at each other. Edward felt Riley's power lift and he stood still, putting his hands up in surrender as they came towards him. Then just as Scott, the youngest vampire was about to grab him, Edward pulled his arm with one hand and his head with the other and bit into his neck, dismembering him in less than one second. Riley disabled him and Edward was on his knees in an instant, next to Scott's severed head.

He was fighting with all his strength against Riley's power again. He had learned something about it, it was a mental gift, not a physical one, and it had loopholes. Unlike before when it had taken him by surprise, now he knew what to expect and focused his mind on saving Bella. He couldn't fail her now, he would save her even if he had to kill everyone in his path to do so.

Riley was visibly frustrated that Edward was resisting. Edward was fighting to stand and now he focused on getting into Riley's head.

"You two don't touch him!" Riley barked at the two newborns. "I want to do this myself."

"You know it's all a lie Riley. She doesn't love you, she loves James, she needs you to be loyal to her so you can do all she says. As soon as she has used the army you made to its full potential, you are useless to her," Edward said through clenched teeth. He struggled for air, he felt the force taking a toll on his lungs, he kept telling himself that it was all in his mind. "Mark my words, she will betray you."

"Shut up!" Riley yelled.

Edward was slammed against the stone wall and pieces of it crumbled off. Then he felt a kick to the gut which made Edward topple over, falling to the cold stone floor. Then Riley proceeded to land another blow to his head while he was on the ground, his other injuries healing. Riley grabbed Edward and whispered in a deadly tone,

"I will end you. I'll make you wish you were dead."

Edward responded with surprising weak laughter and a smirk curving at his lips, replying darkly, "Believe me I've wished for death longer than you've been alive, don't think you can change anything."

Riley was angry, he was about to land another crushing blow, when Jeanine called from further up the cave.

"Riley, Victoria's near."

Riley turned away from Edward. Edward took the second of opportunity to run across the cave, at his fastest speed that he practically flew, and before Jeanine knew it, her dismembered head had been thrown against the wall, along with Pete's, who tried to stop Edward.

"NO!" Riley shouted. Coming over to his part of the cave and again Edward was forced to the ground.

"I'll be surprised if Victoria decides to keep you after all three of her newborns were killed by nothing more than your incompetence," Edward said. "In fact, I'm surprised she hasn't yet, you're nothing more than a foolish child."

Then they both looked to the entryway, to see Victoria standing there . She looked shocked by the scene before her, all three bodies scattered around the cave. She eyed Riley, and then Edward who was still fighting against Riley's power. Then her shock turned into a sneer of vengeance when she threw a half conscious Bella to the floor, not 3 meters from Edward who was on the ground, struggling to get up, he turned his head to see her.

She was no longer wearing hospital clothes, she had on a silky dress, her lips had been painted red and long hair hair flowed down her back and shoulders like a silky wave. Victoria had cleaned her up out of spite; it was her sick and twisted way of somehow making her more desirable, but all it did was anger him further. Bella was in an out of consciousness. She was not fully responding to what was happening around her, but enough to know she was in danger and she tried to get up, finding what strength she had left in her. Victoria lifted her head to face Edward at his level. It was the first time Edward had seen her big brown eyes since he had left her and they stared right at him.

"Bella," He whispered, the pain of seeing her here was clear on his face. Victoria spoke.

"Take a good look at your lovely human now Edward; you'll want to get a glimpse of her alive before I kill her."

A/N: I know it's another cliff hanger but the next chapter will be up in no time, I just need to edit:) Also, as you probably already know but just to clarify, I gave Riley the ability to get into anyone's mind and make them think that the force of gravity is being expelled upon them beyond their control.


	9. Life from Death's Cradle

**Chapter 9- Life from Death's Cradle**

"Look at your human Edward. Isn't she absolutely lovely?" Victoria said to him, an evil smile curling at her crimson stained lips.

"I swear to god Victoria if you even think..."

"I'm sorry Edward, I'm afraid you are in no position for making threats at the moment," Victoria said.

Edward struggled with every ounce of his being to get up. Victoria got so near to him, he could feel her breath on his ear as she whispered,

"Don't worry, after this is done, you won't feel anything. No fear, no empathy, nothing but vengeance. Now I'll make her suffer and the memory will bleed through your skull like a pool of lava, and as hard as you try, you'll never get the images out of your head, it's enough to drive anyone mad."

"Victoria DON'T," she turned and looked back at Edward with a smug smile. "Do what you want with me but don't touch her, I'm the one responsible for James death, she is innocent."

Edward looked to Riley, sensing a tugging at his conscience as he couldn't help being astounded by Edward's change from a bloodthirsty villain, a mind manipulator moments ago, to a selfless being with enough humanity to give his life for this mortal girl.

"Victoria, we should make him suffer, after all she's just a useless human, she doesn't have anything to do with what _he_ did," Riley said, pointing towards Edward.

Victoria stared at Riley with disbelief, her lips curled into a smile and she walked towards him. He looked apprehensive now, regretting his words. She looked him in the eye.

"She has everything to do with this," she said menacingly. "My dear Riley, I told you to keep this vampire restrained and you have failed me, because of you, we have less protection, don't let the same thing happen a second time."

Then she strode away from the younger vampire and grabbed Bella by the neck, flinging her against the wall, not hard enough to kill her. Victoria grabbed her again and looked back at Edward,"I wasn't planning on shedding any blood, my newborn's would have had a frenzy, but since you've gotten rid of them, I can do this the fun way."

Victoria grabbed Bella's neck and Edward heard in her thoughts that she intended to bite it. She would let her feel the horrible pain of the transformation before draining her of blood, killing her.

"Wait, no Victoria!" Edward shouted.

Victoria ignored him, but she was distracted when she looked up and saw ahead of her in the entryway; it was three of Edward's siblings, Jasper, Alice, and Emmett. He remembered that Rosalie and Esme had gone to Seattle for the day and Alice must have had a vision of this happening.

Before they knew it, Victoria had grabbed a sharp shard of stone and stabbed it right into Bella's stomach. She knew biting her without draining her blood would turn her into a vampire, and the last thing she wanted was to keep her alive. Bella let out a strangled grunt and coughed up blood, which splattered on the floor. Edward was released when Riley realized that he had to run if he wanted to make it out alive. Edward caught Bella before she could fall to the floor.

Victoria, along with Riley, had fled the other way, deeper into the cave. Emmett and Jasper went after them.

Edward could not care any less what happened to Victoria and Riley. He only looked to Bella, the sunrise had seeped into the cave, lighting up the stone. Bella's eyes, which were all around the room, rested on him. He saw a slight smile tugging at her lips and then he cradled her head in his arms as they rested on the floor. She managed to let a faint, barely audible,

"Edward..."

She hadn't forgotten him, she had her memory, or at least enough of it. If he had been human, his eyes might have welled with tears.

She was shaking and blood poured out of her wound, gushing all over his shirt, but he didn't even notice. The life was being drained from her and yet she looked at peace. She must of thought she was in a dream. Her eyes lost focus then and she lay limp in his arms.

"Bella," Edward whispered, his face twisted in agony. He shook her gently, hoping she would awaken, her heart was failing, and she was pale as ever.

"Please Bella, wake up... wake up... wake up. I'm so sorry," he pleaded.

Alice was the only one with him; she drifted over his body which shook with sobs. She fell to her knees beside him. She rested a gentle hand on his arm and he heard her thoughts.

_It doesn't have to be this way._

Edward looked at her with wide eyes, and then down at Bella.

_Flashback_

_Night had fallen long ago; the sun was just about to grace its presence over the forest. Edward sat on the roof of the house, his eyes grazed over the trees, searching onward. The gentle breeze fanned through his golden hair and he felt warmth on his ice-cold skin, a sensation he didn't experience often in the cold and wet Forks weather. _

_All was quiet in the house. _

_He felt the presence of someone behind him. He knew by the graceful way she moved, it was Alice. His pixie of a sister, and the only sibling he barely had any disagreements with. They, being the "freaks" of the family, shared a certain connection to each other; they communicated through her visions and his mind reading, often knowing exactly what each other was thinking before anyone else. But it had been 2 weeks since the family meeting, and they hadn't said much to each other since._

"_I didn't mean what I said earlier," said __Edward __._

_"Didn't mean what?" she asked._

"_What I'd said when you asked me if I'd rather Bella die than become a vampire and I answered that she'd be dead either way. It was a lie; I didn't even realize it until the words slipped out."_

_Alice walked closer and sat beside him, she faced the forest ahead. Her red hair wasn't in its usual spiky style today, instead it was left to fall straight and brush over the side of her face. _

"_Maybe Bella becoming a vampire wouldn't be such a bad thing. I never did understand why you and Rose thought she'd be making a mistake; that she'd regret it," Alice said. "It's just that it would have been so much easier to turn her into a vampire instead of leaving, perhaps things might have gone smoother."_

"_When I considered leaving Bella, I'd realized that no matter what lifestyle she chose, human or vampire, that there would always be a scar left. However, there was a path that could leave fewer scars, less regret and mourning," said Edward._

"_If she went away to college, perhaps she'd miss her family, her friends, her old life, yet she would see them again. She would not be able to see her family as a vampire. She would be forced to leave them behind because of the very nature of what she is," he said._

"_But Edward, Bella knew what she would be giving up. She showed an unwavering determination to become like us, it was her choice all along," said Alice._

"_What she showed, was that she was ready to toss her life away, for me. I couldn't let her do that, I love her too much. Getting what you want doesn't always make you happy, perhaps in the beginning but in the long run, eternity is a long time to have regret. I've seen how destructive the feeling can be." _

"_But when you left, Bella was in pain. I tried to keep myself from having visions her but I couldn't help it. She didn't let go, I didn't tell you about them, I thought that the grief would go away eventually and it started to seem like she was forgetting about us, but when Charlie died, things just got worse," Alice told him._

"_I never wanted that for her. When I left I thought what I was doing would truly help her in the long run, when she grew a little older, graduated, traveled maybe started a family. She wouldn't even realize that she'd moved on, until she did."_

_They sat in silence for a moment until Edward said, "I can almost remember being human, it is so unlike the life I have now. I took for granted waking up every morning and feeling the simple pleasure of just being alive. Living among others freely, knowing that time is precious. Bella reminded me of that, how fragile, how breakable humans are, that every day is an achievement within itself. I've seen hundreds of humans die before my eyes and if there's one thing I'll always remember, one thing they all shared, it's that moment of peace before they die. The moment they truly are at acceptance with their fate before their souls drift off to another place. I could never come close to feeling such a thing." _

"_And yet I live every day that Bella lies in that bed, regretting the choice I made. I shouldn't have left her hoping that she would find happiness, I should have never broken my promise," he said._

_Alice spoke, _"_I wish I'd felt even an ounce of what you are describing as a human. Maybe I did once, though I don't recall anything. I can't remember what it felt like, but I never doubted for a second that you weren't thinking of the best for her. It's your choice now Edward, I can't force you to do anything. The only thing I can tell you is that she loved you... maybe even more than life itself," she said, getting up._

_Edward watched the sunrise in solitude, her last words still hanging in his mind._

_End of flashback_

He snapped into alertness. He laid Bella down, and then looked to his sister.

"Alice listen to me, you MUST not let me lose control, don't fail me. Or her," he said.

Alice nodded.

Edward gazed down at his love. He stroked her hair, then he leaned into her neck.

"Forgive me Bella. I'm so sorry, for everything," he whispered.

Then he sank his teeth into her neck. The taste enveloped him, it was like heaven. He immediately fell under its spell. He felt so wrong but at the same time he didn't care, her blood made him feel more alive than ever before.

He heard a female voice calling his name, he was zoned out just like the day he attacked Carlisle. He was being pulled off, he could sense it. He fought against every nerve and instinct to let go, he squeezed his eyes shut and built up the strength. Then he flung himself back, and was on the ground panting, not physically exhausted, but mentally.

He had managed to stop, he looked to Bella, still a broken corpse on the ground and this brief feeling of achievement sank within him. Carlisle had at last arrived, he was looking over her. His thoughts showed that there was little he could do to fix this, what could he do if her body did not respond to the venom?

"What's wrong?" Edward asked. "Why isn't she moving Carlisle?"

Carlisle did not answer. Alice looked stunned.

Edward was at Bella's side in a second, he cradled her once again, silently this time. He buried his head in her soft hair. He felt a horrible emotions threatening to boil over, but he stayed so still, any onlooker would think he was a statue. But he felt a calm come over him, her death meant his death. A swift, unfeeling one, he had to find a way to make it to Volterra before his family could stop him.

He would run, without stopping this time and go from there. Even if they caught him he would still find a way for it to end, one way or another. He decided he would leave them all letters, apologize for being such a pain and for being the melodramatic brooder he was. He would write about his fond memories with each of them, tell them to let him go, know that he's better off wherever he is.

Now that Edward was planning all of this, death did not seem all that bad. It was something he should have experienced long ago on a hospital bed, alongside his mother and father. He was supposed to have felt the point where all the pain stopped, the bliss, the slow release of feeling, the gentle rocking of the soul as it drifted out of him and realizing he was on the tipping point of dying, and being alright with the knowledge. Instead all he continued to feel was pain, when Carlisle bit him, and the long tedious century afterward.

Bella had changed all that, and now that she was gone, he had been the luckiest man on earth to at least get a few months of happiness. That was all he was searching for his whole existence, that was all that truly mattered to him. So when he thought of death, he did not dream of agony, he dreamed of his own personal paradise with Bella.

And then a sound made all three of their heads shoot up and Edward felt the moment of calm disappear, as he was washed back on to the shores of reality.

It was the sound of a beating heart.


	10. A New Cullen

**Chapter 10- A New Cullen**

"_I'm going to fail biology if we keep skipping class like this," said Bella from the seat next to Edward in his shiny silver Volvo._

_Edward sped down the slick highway, trees surrounding their path on an empty endless road. The sun was fully visible today, Edward's skin shone like moonstones. Bella's long, dark brown hair blew in the wind from the open window. _

"_With me as your tutor, impossible," Edward replied smugly._

"_Either I'm going to fail, or you're going to total your car one of these days with your crazy vampire driving," she teased. 200, on a maximum 100 road was just bending the rules, by Edward's standards._

_Edward chuckled, "I suppose it will just give me an excuse to buy a new one."_

"_I'm sure it would. You still haven't told me where we're going," said Bella. _

_They drove out of the shade of the trees and the Volvo sped past vast stretches of farmland and cornfields. _

"_I did tell you, we are going for a drive," he replied._

"_Yes but to where?" she asked._

"_It's a surprise," he said. _

"_Fine, have it your way," said Bella, shifting away to look out the window, pouting her lips._

"_You're cute when you're mad," Edward smirked._

"_And you're kidnapping the chief of police's daughter, so jokes on you" She said, Edward laughed and then he turned into an isolated path hidden by cedar trees. He parked the car to the side of the path and opened the door. Bella got out, looking around._

_Edward took her hand and led her up into the trees vanishing from the path they had stopped on. Bella unsuccessfully tried not to stumble over branches, Edward caught her every time._

"_I can think of a benefit being a vampire will bring us both, you won't have to save me from a concussion every time I try to walk," Bella said._

_Edward's soft smile faded._

"_What's the matter?" Bella asked._

"_I don't mind catching you Bella, now get on my back; I'll have to carry you from here." _

"_I'm not that handicapped that I can't walk," Bella protested._

"_If we walk we won't get there until tomorrow," Edward said, his smug smile returning._

_Bella passed him and kept walking._

"_So stubborn," Edward said._

_Bella kept walking._

"_Alright I'm sorry for teasing you, but it's kind of the truth." Said Edward._

"_It's kind of the truth? What kind of apology is that?" She said, and before she knew it she was clutching onto what felt like the fabric of his jacket and felt like she was flying through the trees. They may as well have been at the speed he was going. Whenever Edward took her with him at vampire speed, she was always nervous, irrationally so, knowing that he would never let her fall or hit a tree. Still she buried her face as low as she could, hiding her eyes._

_Within 2 minutes, which felt like 20 minutes for her, Edward stopped and Bella let go, forgetting for a moment that her feet weren't touching the ground and she fell backwards to the grass, luckily Edward reached around to stop her from falling. She took a moment to regain composure, feeling as if she had just been through a roller coaster, with his driving combined with his running through the forest._

"_Do vampires ever get dizzy?" She asked._

_Edward chuckled softly, pulling her closer towards him. As if she didn't feel lightheaded enough, the feeling of his lips moving down towards her neck was sending her spiralling out of control._

_Bella opened her eyes, remembering that they had arrived, she looked around and her jaw dropped. Edward stopped, apparently remembering what they had come for. _

_She could hear the sound of rushing water, a waterfall streaming into the lake from the caves. They were unlike anything she had seen, they were the centre of a sanctuary that no one knew about. They shone like black crystals, atop the spring which reflected the sun giving the whole clearing a charming glow. The grass was the perfect shade of green and from it sprouted plentiful purple and white flowers; Bella looked around observing with wide eyes._

"_How did you find this place?" Bella asked._

"_When my family first moved here, I would often go exploring on days like this, where I couldn't be in public and didn't particularly want to stay at home either. I would sometimes be gone for days, scouring the woods. The parts that humans couldn't go, I would go._

"_Do you want to go inside?" he asked._

_Bella nodded and Edward led her up around the spring. The only way up the cave without going in the water was to jump from the grass, grabbing onto a piece of the stone._

_Edward got a grip on Bella, jumping on without any effort and they stood at the front of the entrance. Edward led her inside._

_A stream of water ran down the centre. The sound of rushing water echoed off of the walls. The two stayed to the dry side and walked deeper and deeper through the cavern. The only light was the shimmering crystal like rocks that lined the ceiling and the walls, they were mesmerizing to her. _

_They came upon what looked to be the centre of the cave, it was round and huge. Seeing what she saw, she couldn't believe that a veil of rock could shield the beauty at the core of the place. The sparkling ceiling was shining down upon a motionless lake. Bella was in complete fascination, this did not feel like Forks anymore, this was a dream world. _

"_What do you think?" _

"_Edward, it's... beautiful." Bella replied._

_Eventually they came back out into the brightness of the outside. Edward sat down onto the edge of the grass above the spring. Bella joined him and said,_

"_It must be wonderful for you."_

"_Why so?" He asked._

"_You get to see so much of the world, do so much that most normal humans can only dream of doing. It would just be nice if I could see things the way you can."_

_Edward looked thrown aback, "See the world the way I see it? You're not missing out on anything believe me. No one's wish is to explore the world in solitude for an eternity, bound to listen to the endless thoughts of the human race, watch all the ones you care about die off. Bella, that's not exactly the ideal way to live."_

"_I would not be alone Edward, I would have you. Please just turn me into a vampire; it's the only way we can be together." Bella pleaded._

_Edward pulled away to look at her face, "What about Charlie and Renée?"_

_There was silence as Bella looked into the water, searching for Edward's reflection as he sat, a statue. She leaned on his shoulder._

"_You said yourself that we belong together Edward, but not as we are now" She said. "I'm afraid that if I don't become like you, I'll lose you, one way or another, it is bound to happen._

_Edward turned toward her; he looked into her eyes and said,_

"_I will never leave your side Bella, in life and in death. I swear."_

_End of flashback_

"Relax Edward; it will not be long now," Carlisle said, walking into the bedroom where Bella's limp body lay.

Edward was next to her, the same way he had been for the past 3 days. He did not move his eyes from her when he replied, "How can I relax with knowledge that I'm the one responsible for taking the soul of the only girl I've ever loved."

Carlisle sighed, used to Edward's tendency toward dramatics, "This is extraordinary, the transformation is nearly complete and she has shown no sign of pain."

"How are we to know if she is in pain," Edward asked.

"_We cannot know. I suppose we can always ask her once she is awake_. _That morphine must have had some part to play in it,_" Carlisle replied, sitting on the other side of the bed.

"I can hear her heart beat getting faster," Edward said.

_A sign of the end of the transformation_, Carlisle thought to himself.

"What does everyone think... about her disappearance I mean?" asked Edward.

"What don't they think, would be a better question," Carlisle replied.

"The townspeople suspect us don't they?" Edward asked.

"With good reason certainly, but I wouldn't worry too much about that right now," Carlisle said.

_Edward there is something you should know, about Renee and Phil._

"What is it, they must be livid," Edward questioned.

Then Edward read further into Carlisle's thoughts and his heart sank. "No," Edward whispered.

_Victoria couldn't leave witnesses alive._

"They were there, at the hospital when Bella was taken?" Edward said grimly.

Carlisle nodded, suspecting Bella might be able to hear them.

"How will we tell her?" Edward asked, too quiet for human ears.

"_As far as we both know, we are the only family she has left. And we will help her through this."_

"She won't want my help," said Edward. "Not after what I put her through. I broke both my promises to her, my promise to keep her safe and my promise to never leave her. And look what's resulted from it. I must hunt down Victoria and kill her; I have to do this for Bella."

"_Edward that can wait, Bella is not fragile any more physically, but emotionally she needs a familial presence now more than ever. She needs you too."_

"Even if she can't stand the sight of me?"

They stopped talking when the rapid beating of the heart abruptly stopped. There was dead silence.

"I'll go get the others," Carlisle said, exiting the room.

Edward tilted over her, "Bella?" he whispered. "Bella love, you can open your eyes now."

Maybe she heard him, maybe she didn't; it didn't matter because within a millisecond, her now crimson red eyes snapped opened.

Her transformation was complete.

~o~o~o~

Alice had said it herself Bella's beauty was mesmerizing. Edward had shot back that she was always beautiful and that Alice should prioritize on more important things. But sitting here in front of him, he could not deny she was the most beautiful creature he had ever encountered in his century of existence.

Her wide red eyes, accentuated by long black eyelashes looked around the room in wonder and fascination. They moved inhumanly quickly, she did not have to blink or even breathe. Edward did not think she even noticed him, he decided to keep his distance; just in case he startled her. She was much stronger than him at the moment and could probably crush his arm with one hand if she wanted to, or worse.

"Oh my..." he almost didn't recognize the crystal clear voice that came from Bella's mouth when she linked eyes with him finally. Apparently she couldn't recognize her voice either by the way she flinched after hearing it.

They were staring at each other for what seemed to last ages. Neither one of them had to speak; they were connected to each other until Bella spoke unexpected words.

"Who are you?"

~o~o~o~

Bella proved to be very calm for a newborn, the best any of them had ever seen. She had sat and listened while Carlisle and Esme tried to get her to recall her human life. She could remember her parents, her old life in Phoenix, her summers in Forks, but could barely remember anything about vampires or the Cullen's, and certainly nothing about Edward. To her they were strangers and all she had been told was that she had been on the verge of death and Edward had bitten her to turn her into a vampire because apparently, at one point they loved each other; so much that living without one another was unbearable.

Carlisle's normally curious and intuitive mind was riddled with fascination. So many questions needed to be answered. Why did Bella's transformation go so smoothly and without the usual agony for days, why was she not distracted in the least by the normal newborn craving for blood, and most importantly, what was it that triggered her brain to lose only the memories of the Cullen's and of all things supernatural?

They gathered in the living room downstairs. Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett and Edward; Bella sat stiffly and slightly defensive in her seat, unsure of what to make of this.

"You're a family of vampires and I used to date Edward when I was human?"

"Correct," Carlisle said.

"And you all left town and I fell into a coma? Why, what happened?" Bella asked.

"Well I am still trying to figure out that same question. You fell off a cliff and injured your head and you were in a coma for months. When our family found out, we came back. But Bella, your medical records say it was suicide. No one can be certain of that but you."

"I..." Bella's perfect eyebrows creased as she tried to recall the memory. "I honestly can't remember."

"That's alright dear, Carlisle, she must be dying of thirst right now, I think we should do this another time," said Esme.

"Of course, forgive me Bella, you really should hunt now. It's just you're so controlled for someone who has only been a vampire for less than an hour, it's incredible," Carlisle said, getting up from his seat.

"Hunt?" she asked, a mortified expression appearing on her face.

A/N: So Bella's a vampire now and she can't remember the Cullen's, please give me your thoughts; reviews are extremely helpful with my writing. Also I've read some of the comments that had some criticisms towards Edward's character in this, and even those are helpful so could you also give me your opinions surrounding the characters and maybe whatever characters you would like to see more of? I can spin this story pretty much any way from here so feedback would be awesome. This has been a crazy week, but the next chapter will be up shortly :)


	11. Getting Acquainted, New Enemies

**Chapter 11~ Getting Acquainted, Alice's past, New Enemies**

Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and Edward had gone with Bella to the eastern forest. The ancient trees surrounded them; they were spaced out just enough, giving them plenty of room to chase prey without having to manoeuvre around them. The family had been eager to give the newborn pointers on hunting.

"Just close your eyes and focus," Jasper said.

"Follow the scent," said Alice.

"Which scent?" Bella asked.

"You'll see," said Emmett.

Bella closed her eyes and must have picked up the scent of a passing herd of deer because in a minute, she was flying at the speed of light towards it. Instincts were heightened in hunting mode, which was why it was so dangerous for humans to be within miles of vampires when they were hunting. The others caught up to her just as she was finishing with her prey.

"Good job Bella," said Jasper.

"Your dress!" Alice exclaimed.

Bella looked down to see the dirt stains covering the designer outfit that Alice must have picked for her to wear.

"Whoa," Bella said.

"Don't pay attention to Alice, she's probably just happy to have an excuse to get you new clothes," Emmett teased. Alice responded by throwing a punch in his direction to which he avoided expertly.

"We'll have to work on hunting etiquette later," Alice said.

"We're hunting, not going to a freaking tea party. Bella needs to learn the real way to hunt, maybe wrestle a bear or something; she seems too calm for a newborn."

"Is that supposed to be a bad thing?" Alice argued back.

"Yes!" replied Emmett .

"Those are the best times of being a vampire, not caring about anything, no boundaries, rules, remember Rose?" Emmett said winking slyly, to which Alice responded with an eye roll.

"Thank God, Jasper and I had arrived after _that_ stage of your vampire life was over."

"What?" Emmett said innocently. "Carlisle and Esme got us a separate house."

"After you tore theirs apart!" Alice said.

"I still don't see the problem." Emmett replied.

Bella's attention went elsewhere as they continued to bicker, her eyes moved to an opening in the trees, where they landed on Edward curiously as he disappeared off the edge of a steep dip in the woods.

"Where is he going?" Bella asked.

"Don't worry about Edward, sometimes he likes to be by himself," said Alice.

"Sometimes?" Emmett guffawed, howling with laughter.

"Can I try hunting again? I think I'm still thirsty, besides, if my clothes are already ruined," Bella said.

"This time try focusing on singling out one particular scent in your mind and separating all the others. That way you will know what you are hunting," said Jasper.

"Got it," Bella said, and then she closed her eyes and focused. She picked up the scents of so many things, but the one that stood out the most was blood. She focused on the same scent of deer blood, because she was already familiar with it, but then she picked up another scent, this one seemed much more satisfying. She was moving towards it, not even realizing how fast she was moving.

She saw the creature with her microscopic vision a kilometer away. With little effort on her part, she caught it before it could run, and fed from the blood of its neck. She tasted the blood, it was better than anything she'd ever experienced so far, and ten times better than the deer's blood. It felt strange and wrong to be drinking the blood from an animal's punctured artery, but at the same time she didn't care.

When she was almost finished she looked down at her prey and was shocked. She had slaughtered a wolf, but it was not the animal that startled her, it was the memory it brought her.

She suddenly had a flashback of before Charlie's death, there had been some reported incidents of wolf sightings, but these were no ordinary wolves. It was a hazy memory, almost like a dream. Bella had seen them one day in the woods, what she was doing there, that was right before her father was killed. Many of the townspeople, including her, thought that the wolves must have killed her father.

But now that Bella looked at her prey which lay in front of her, there was one peculiar part of it that stood out to her. It was the fang marking on its neck, which she had left. It looked the exact same as the inhuman bite on Charlie's neck.

Then it hit Bella, and she felt sick from the thought. Her emotions overwhelmed her, she couldn't bear to stay and wait for the others. Her feet carried her away from the dead carcass as fast as she could go with her newborn strength.

~o~o~o~

Edward effortlessly jumped across a wide creek and landed lightly without so much as an ounce of sound on the other side. He was closer to human activity here, far from the others, but he was finished his hunting. He needed to sort out his thoughts, there were so many questions running through his mind; Victoria and Riley were still out there and he thirsted for vengeance, but that would have to wait.

Suddenly he picked up Bella's scent, she was close. His head snapped up, she shouldn't be in this part of the woods. How could the others let her get this far? He took off in her direction; he was the only one who had a chance at keeping up with her.

She was coming from the north, Edward could see her now. He swerved into her path, surprising her; she crashed into him, tackling him to the ground. Obviously her newborn reasoning had been activated.

"Bella, calm down it's Edward," He said.

Bella was furious, at what, Edward had not a single idea.

"Which of you killed him?" She asked.

"What? Killed who?" Edward questioned.

She stood up and grabbed his neck, pushing him against the massive birch tree her red eyes staring right into his, they were burning with rage.

"I don't think you know your own strength yet," Edward choked out, as he pointed to her arm which connected with his neck, which was trapped up against the tree.

She looked down and realized what she was doing, she let go.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, I was just... so angry," she said.

Edward relaxed his frame. He figured that it was a typical newborn outburst and didn't realize what had driven her to her anger.

Edward smiled, "Don't worry about it, your emotions are heightened right now; it's all a part of the process. What happened, why did you and the others split up?"

Then Edward remembered humans were nearby, and yet, Bella had not tried to go after the scent yet.

"You cannot smell that?" He asked.

Her hands flew to wrap around her neck. She tensed up and looked as if she was struggling for air.

"What is that? It burns my throat," Bella said.

He replied, "Come we should get out of this part of the woods."

He started moving away but Bella stayed where she was, she was feeling the effects of the craving, the craving for human blood.

"Bella?" he called.

She took off towards the scent, Edward, after muttering a few profanities, tried catching up to her before she got so close, that it was too late.

"Bella wait!" he called.

He had to find a way to distract her. He threw a massive piece of birch that he ripped off a tree, it barely fazed her, but it gave him the chance to get in front of her while she was distracted. Then he caught her and they tumbled down the hill over bushels and trees, until Edward finally regained his balance and caught her.

"Bella, you don't want to do this," he said. She stopped struggling.

He stared down into her eyes, she gazed up at him. They had both fallen off the steep cliff of the woods and they had landed in a patch of grass.

"It's funny, I can still smell the blood, but I don't have the urge to go after it anymore," She said.

Edward, realizing he still had her arms locked, moved off of her and she sat up.

They sat silently for a moment, and Bella looked down at herself, she let out a laugh.

"I must look like a mess right now. Running around in the forest; I was never really the outdoors kind of girl," she said.

Edward plucked a leaf from her dark brown locks.

"You always look perfect," he said.

Bella smiled shyly, "Did we ever go into the woods, when I was human I mean?"

"We went a lot of places in these woods. I sort of miss catching you from all the tripping, even though it drove me half mad knowing you could easily get a concussion any second you were on your feet."

Bella laughed, "That sounds like me, danger prone."

Edward looked at her; he couldn't say he missed _that_ part.

"I can't understand how I could have forgotten you. You seem so different than anyone I've ever met. Your face just seems to stand out," Bella said.

"Maybe the memories aren't gone completely, perhaps they're just misplaced," he replied.

They both heard the others running towards them. They had finally caught up with them.

"Oh my gosh Bella, we were so worried you might have gotten to town," said Alice.

"But how on earth are you resisting the smell of human blood so well. Even I could notice it when I came here," asked Jasper.

"I lost control and went after the scent, Edward stopped me." Bella replied.

They got back to the house. Edward and Bella had not had a chance to speak again. The family's fascination had skyrocketed when everyone heard about what happened with Bella resisting the human scent. Eventually Alice showed Bella to her room, where all her things were kept. The walls were white, along with the ceiling and the door to the walk in closet filled with new clothes. Light filtered into the empty room from the large window facing the driveway below. A bench was built into the wall underneath the window.

Night had fallen quickly and now Alice was with Bella in her room. The lamps were the only lighting; they sat on the bed that was purely part of the family's facade. Alice was showing her some old photos of Bella with the Cullen's as a human.

"Here is another picture from your disaster birthday party. I took this one," Alice said.

"You mean the party ruined by a paper cut? Nice," Bella said.

She looked at the picture. In it, she was leaned into Edward who was a head taller than she. She was only half smiling, not looking at the camera. Edward wasn't looking at the camera either; instead he had his usual smirk on his face, his head slightly tilted into her brown hair which had been curled and left down for the occasion. Behind them were wrapped presents, the flowers color coordinated with the wrapping paper.

"We weren't the picture taking people were we?" Bella asked.

"And not the party type either, I had to practically drag you to come to your own birthday celebration. It's not every day someone _actually_ gets older around here," Alice replied.

"So it was a celebration of my aging," said Bella, raising an eyebrow.

"Basically," Alice replied with a quirky smile.

"I wish I could still have these memories," said Bella.

"It's not so bad; I don't have any human memories either, think of it as a clean slate. Besides, sometimes it's good to forget the past, you may remember it again and realize it wasn't as cheery as you imagined it would be," She said.

"You lost your memories of being a human?" asked Bella.

"I had no clue of my human life until recently when my... or well _our _family split up. Jasper and I decided to go our separate ways together and I took the time to do some research into my past. It turns out that I was born into a middle class home in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1901. Since I was a child, I was prone to having premonitions of the future, which in that time could earn someone the label of witch, or demonically possessed . According to the records, both my parents and the townspeople thought I had gone mad and had me trapped in a mental asylum, two counties away from where I grew up," Alice said.

"It was the electroshock therapy which rendered me with total amnesia. That's why I forgot my childhood," she said.

"That's horrible," Bella replied.

"Not necessarily, like I said I can't remember any of it. I also found out, through other means that I had befriended a vampire who worked in the asylum; it was my powers he was fascinated with. One day when I had a vision of a powerful tracker named James coming after me, after picking up my scent, I told the vampire of this. He decided to bite me and go to distract James, sacrificing himself in the process. When James finally found me, my blood was already turned and he decided to let me live. When I woke up, the pain of the venom had erased all of my memories, just like the shocking treatments did. But my premonitions were also intensified and my first vision was of Jasper becoming my mate, and a happy future with the Cullen's. So in the end it didn't turn out so bad after all. I also learned that I had a little sister named Cynthia and a niece who still lives in Biloxi."

"I've heard the name James before, it sounds so familiar" said Bella.

"You and I are the only two people who have ever escaped James."

Bella's eyes widened, "what?"

"That's another matter entirely, I don't want to overwhelm you all at once," said Alice, she started gathering the pictures to put back into the box. Bella reached for Alice,

"Alice, please tell me," she said.

Alice sighed, "Fine. Well there was James, Victoria and Laurent; they were a wandering group of vampires passing through Forks the day the family was playing baseball."

"Baseball?" asked Bella, tilting her head.

"Correct. Anyways, James took a liking to your scent. He saw how defensive Edward was over you and took it as a challenge. Long story short, we fled to Phoenix. James tricked you into making you sneak away from Jasper and I, and meet him at your old ballet studio. He was going to kill you but Edward arrived and shortly after, the rest of us did too; we killed James. James had already bitten you before he could be stopped however, and Edward made the choice to suck the venom out, preventing you from becoming a vampire. Victoria was James's mate, the whole reason why she wants to kill you is to get revenge on Edward," said Alice.

"Wow, that is a lot," said Bella.

"You asked for it," Alice replied. "But lately there's been all this talk about how you _used_ to want to be a vampire to join our coven, and how you _used_ to love Edward and be okay with all the supernatural stuff, but throughout all this talk of the human you, no one's asked how the vampire Bella feels about all this." Alice said.

Downstairs, Emmett and Jasper's roughhousing could be clearly heard. The sound of a football game on the TV was clearly the culprit. Emmett had thrown a football across the living room which had apparently come close to hitting one of the ornaments on the table, to which Esme responded with a gasp and then a usual, "take the football outside" lecture. The almost never cheerful Rosalie muttered, "idiots" in response to her brother and mate's ridiculously childish games as she lounged in the living room chair downstairs where they were.

"I don't know, everything feels so surreal to me, I've never had a huge family like this one. I've been an only child my whole life, and while the quiet was sometimes nice, I've always secretly wanted siblings. I've seen big families on TV and stuff but it's just never been something I've experienced. Growing up, I think I could have been considered the unofficial parent of the house; I was so mature for my age. It's always just been me and my mom, Renee-"

Bella stopped abruptly, she looked worried.

"Oh my God Renee, where is my mom, she must be worried sick?"

The house went silent, obviously everyone was listening. Alice looked like she was contemplating how much she should say,

"Bella, there is something you need to know... about Renee."

~o~o~o~

Carlisle picked up his work bag and the cup of coffee he often used as his excuse as to how he could be so focused working 10 hours nonstop throughout the night. It was now 6:30 am and his night shift was over. He was always reluctant to leave; frustrated that he could easily pull off another full shift and perform countless other surgeries without so much as blinking an eye, but he knew it was necessary not to cause any suspicion among the humans.

He took the elevator down to the main floor. On the way down, his colleague, Dr. Kolenshire stepped on. He was in his 60s and had a short grey beard framing his face and was just arriving for his day shift.

"Morning Carlisle, long night?" he asked.

"The usual, the patient load was manageable," Carlisle replied.

"They still haven't found out about your young patient, that Swan girl? What happened to her anyway, she used to date one of your sons right?" Kolenshire asked.

"Indeed she did. Let's hope the authorities can get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible." Carlisle replied and then smiled goodbye stepping off the elevator. He was thankful that he didn't have to answer any more of his questions which were a little too intrusive for his liking.

He walked through the hallway and strode down the walkway above the eating area by the coffee shop, where hospital staff and visitors sat in quiet mingle, eating their early morning muffins and sipping coffee. He slowed to a halt upon seeing one of his sons waiting by the sliding doors, he emerged from the bench; it was Edward.

~o~o~o~

They sat in the eating area by the deli, in the seats nearest the window, taking advantage of the grey skies outside that permitted them to be in public in the daylight.

"I thought it would be best if we talked here, too many prying ears at home," said Edward.

"Alright then, what's on your mind?" asked Carlisle.

"Do you think it's odd, that Bella lost only her memory of us, nothing else?"

"Of course I do, but she was taken from the hospital before I could do an assessment of her brain function and if she had suffered any extent of amnesia as a human, it would be carried on in the vampire life, to an even greater extent," replied Carlisle.

"That's what I don't understand; because for the moments she was conscious, and Victoria had fled, I was with her. She looked me in the eye, she said my name," Edward said.

"That is odd," Carlisle said, pausing to think. "Then I suppose we have nothing else to blame but the venom, the transformation has been known to trigger memory loss."

"This is no normal post-transformation memory loss" Edward replied.

"Perhaps, but it had the same effects as Alice's did, causing her to forget everything prior to being a vampire. For what reason, we have yet to figure out."

"The treatments given to her caused memory loss in Alice, didn't they?" Edward said.

"Yes but she must of had some experiences after that, and of the moments before she was transformed."

"So maybe brain damage or trauma has some form of direct correlation with higher memory loss after the transformation?" asked Edward.

"That's the only theory we have so far," replied Carlisle.

"So what does this mean about Bella getting her human memories back?"

"Well considering it's been over 90 years since Alice's transformation and she hasn't been able to remember, perhaps not very high. However, maybe part of it was that if she even attempted to dig deep enough and remember, what personal satisfaction would she receive, knowing that many of those memories were painful and would only cause grief?"

"I guess you're right, some things are better left forgotten."

"Alice's case is a little more severe than Bella's. Alice had her childhood memories completely lost, Bella has not. If Bella retraced her old life, visited places she used to know, there is a greater chance of those memories being received again. Don't you remember when you were first transformed? You could barely remember that you even had parents, until you saw your old home again and saw their pictures, then everything came back," Carlisle said.

Edward was about to speak, but turned his focus slightly when he heard thoughts in his head. They were about him and Carlisle, in this person's mind he saw himself sitting at the table by the window.

It was Billy Black. He rolled his wheelchair through the breakfast area, to the sliding doors to exit, when he spotted them.

"What is it Edward?" Carlisle asked.

Edward listened closely, peering through any holes in Billy's mind. Billy was a good friend of Charlie's when he was alive and when he found out that Charlie's only daughter was associating with the Cullen's, he grew even more suspicious of the family. Edward looked deeper into what he was thinking, he saw images, and then he heard thoughts that shocked him.

"Carlisle, I think it's possible that members of the Quileute tribe may be transforming again."

"There have not been shape shifters in this town in at least 50 years," Carlisle replied.

"The instinct to phase is only triggered when a tribal member crosses the scent of vampires and senses the tribe's need of protection. Since it was just us living here, and we don't cross their land, there was no need for the gene to be triggered in the descendants of the wolves we made alliances with. While we've been gone, there must have been attacks on humans by vampires."

"They must have been from Victoria."

"That's not all I heard in his mind. The tribe thinks that we have something to do with Bella's disappearance," said Edward.

"They suspect we broke the treaty?" Carlisle questioned.

Edward nodded, "They are planning on executing some form of an attack on us, I do not know when."

Carlisle leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment, "You say they are not certain we turned Bella into a vampire? They have not seen her?"

"Yes. Maybe if we run, get Bella out of town..."

"That would be a clear dead giveaway. I want to keep peace with this tribe for as long as possible, let's not be too hasty to make enemies so soon."

"If they realize Bella's been turned, they will not care about peace, that will lead to a war between our family and theirs. If their numbers become too great, there's no way we stand a chance against them. They will destroy us," Edward argued.

"If they are planning on coming to the house, Bella mustn't be there when they do; she has to get out of town, as quickly as possible," said Carlisle.

Edward's cell phone vibrated, he looked at it.

"I just got a message from Alice. I don't think we'll have a problem with getting Bella out of town fast enough."

"Why what did it say?" asked Carlisle.

"It's about Bella, she found out about her mother, she got upset and managed to sneak out before they could stop her. They don't know where she is now."

A/N: Firstly this is pretty much the turning point of the story. The Cullens still have Victoria and Riley out there who managed to escape the caves and now the werewolf tribe in town is after them, and to make matters worse, Bella is gone. I can't wait to write the next chapter. Reviews are awesome by the way. ;)


	12. Revisit, the Encounter

**Chapter 12- Revisit, the Encounter**

Edward drove his silver Volvo down an abandoned foggy road. His windshield wipers flew back and forth in front of him as it was pouring rain now. He and his siblings had split up to look for Bella, who could have been anywhere by now.

He sped closer and closer to the La push borders. It was the native reserve which now was home to their biggest threats, he hadn't told his family about the Quileute's transforming into wolves again, only Carlisle knew. The others had no idea of the threat they faced.

He parked his car off to the side of the road, which was bordered by tall trees and a thick forest. Then he got out into the pouring rain. He disappeared off the concrete, blending into the deep wilderness of the surrounding woods.

He ran, keeping his senses on high alert. He also kept on guard for any other dangers, something he found himself doing more recentl,y with all the new foes they have made of late. He sprinted through puddles and jumped over logs and off dips and cliffs until finding a clue; there was no presence of Bella. He scoured the place for 20 minutes until hearing his cell phone ring, he picked it up,

"Alice what is it?" he asked. She was the only one who knew where he was now, because of her visions.

"We found her path; it's in the east. She's coming your way."

He crouched down further to the forest floor and closed his eyes. It was frustrating that he couldn't hear her thoughts. He could hear thoughts farther than he could pick up a scent. He focused solely on listening for movement; her running would have been faster than the animals inhabiting the woods, much faster.

Then he heard the steps and he took off towards them, rustling through trees pounding the dirt beneath him. Bella wouldn't be able to remember the treaty. Vampires could not by any means cross the land to the reserve; it was a direct signal for war.

He got closer, and then he saw her. He knew she saw him too by the way she swerved out her path.

"Bella," he called. "You have to stop."

She didn't and with a burst of energy, and just enough force he practically flew past her, and before she knew it she was crashing into him. Her face filled with frustration, she tried to push him but he only dodged the attack. Then she turned and ran the other direction, but he was in her way again.

"Why should I stop? How do I know that I can trust any of you," She shouted, she tried to run again but he moved in front of her and said, "You _left _me, why on earth are you even back in Forks if we broke up?"

"You have stop because if you don't, there will be devastating consequences, for you and for our family. You won't understand now but you have to-"

"Wait, did you say, devastating consequences?" She asked, looking as if she was trying to hold back a laugh. "Because the fact that both my parents were murdered, I was just in a coma for months after allegedly attempting suicide, only to be stolen from the hospital by a psycho vampire, and turned into an amnesic vampire aren't devastating consequences?"

She broke into a fit of laughter, Edward just looked at her.

"I know you don't really think that's as funny as it is, your emotions are just extremely intensified right now, your body is reacting to that emotion the only way it knows how to manage it," he said.

Her laughter slowly got less and less, until it morphed into the point that it looked as if she was hyperventilating, and she wasn't smiling anymore, her face looked confused and she was in shock.

"I can't believe they're dead," she managed to say. Finally she sank to the forest floor and it seemed as if grief and her emotions had finally gotten the best of her. Bella curled inwardly into herself, wrapping her arms around her frame and her long hair draped over her face.

She felt Edward embrace her, she wasn't crying anymore, her emotional meltdown had finished as quickly as it had started.

"I don't have anything to live for anymore," she whispered.

Edward felt as if a sharp stabbing in his stomach at her words. He'd always feared the day she'd say those words, an she had just spoken them. She sounded too much like himself only days ago. He knew the feeling of emptiness too well. Vampires didn't grieve like humans, when their hearts were broken, they either completely detached themselves emotionally, or died a slow death, and withered away into thousands of years of nothingness, no pain, no pleasure.

Edward could not let her feel that, however he would not simply tell her never to think that way, because he'd fallen victim to the same trap she was in now. Instead he got up and reached out his hand, she looked up at him finally and he said,

"I want to show you something."

~o~o~o~

"Nice going Rosalie, really are you always so eager to break bad news to everyone?" Alice said from the living room couch, where she sat.

"She wanted to know what happened to Renee, there's no point in playing down to fact that her mother died like you were," Rosalie replied.

"It's called being considerate while delivering bad news, maybe you should try it once in a while," Alice snapped back.

"Where is she now?" Said Emmett as he and Jasper walked into the house.

"Edward is with her," Alice replied, Jasper joined her on the couch. "They are both fine, kind of."

"Let's just hope vampire Bella can handle moody schizophrenic Cullen brother," Emmett said as he stood by where Rosalie was at the table, flipping through papers.

"Hiker's spot abnormally massive wolf footprints. These are the same animals suspected of the death of chief deputy Swan last month," she read from one of the articles.

Everyone looked up at her, all thinking the same thing, the Quileute shape shifters. Suddenly Carlisle arrived home, within seconds he walked into the room and said,

"We must pack our things immediately," Carlisle said,

"What do you mean?" Emmett said. "We just got back to Forks, we can't just pack up and leave when things are finally going okay for once."

"I'm afraid we don't have much of a choice right now Emmett," Carlisle replied.

"Where are we going?" asked Rose.

"We are not sure yet, our only plans are to get out of town." Carlisle replied. "It's true, the Quileute's are transforming again. I suspect Victoria and her newborns must have triggered the gene in some of the descendants at the reserve when they started killing humans on their land," said Carlisle, as he stood next to Esme, who had just entered the room after hearing all the commotion.

"They are planning an attack on our family; they suspect we were responsible for Bella's disappearance," He continued.

"They suspect. And if they find out she's a vampire?" Esme said.

"The only other pathway is battle, which I will avoid at all costs, hence the reason why I think our disappearance from this town would be best. Edward is not bringing Bella back, at least not until it is safe to do so," said Carlisle.

"What are we even going to tell the wolves if they have made plans to come here? And how will we even communicate with them; Edward is not here to tell us what they are thinking? There's no way this is going down without a fight," Emmett said.

"Then I will do the talking, for now, they have no reason to take action against our family. They don't know that that Bella is a vampire, nor will they find her here," Carlisle said. "We will leave town as soon as I can make arrangements. So gather whatever you are taking" Carlisle said as he slipped out the doorway of the living room and upstairs to retreat to his study.

~o~o~o~

"There is still a full scale investigation surrounding your disappearance, and Renee and Phil's deaths. The bodies have not been found," Edward said, driving through rain towards the direction of the town.

"What do you think _she_ did with them?" asked Bella.

"Most likely dropped the bodies in the river, I doubt she would have taken the time to bury them."

Bella said nothing in response and they just drove, she was still numb to her feelings, she didn't want to ask for too much information and fall into another sinkhole of sadness and rage. She had sealed up her pain already and didn't want to make the mistake of splitting it open.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked.

Edward didn't need to answer; Bella immediately recognized the quaint little houses and trees which lined the suburban street. She saw a house from her past, the door was locked and the windows had been boarded.

"The police moved your old belongings already, but there are things in there that I left long ago, that I highly doubt they could find," He said pulling into the driveway. "I can hear the thoughts of everyone around here, there are a few spying humans from their windows, wondering what I am doing in Charlie Swan's driveway. Don't get out of the car until I say."

Edward got out and walked to Bella's side of the car. He opened up the door, leaned in and said,

"Move as fast as you can to the back door when I say. Their eyes will not be fast enough to see you."

"Got it," she said.

"Good. Now," he said.

Bella got to the back of the house within a millisecond. Edward joined her and then with one simple hand motion, opened the locked door, breaking the lock through the wood and held the door open for Bella to go inside.

Bella stood for a moment, taking in all the nostalgia this place brought her. She stepped over the threshold and into the kitchen. The place was practically empty, it looked bigger, there was yellow tape everywhere, making it seem like a massive crime scene.

"It's as if I lived here a lifetime ago," said Bella.

Edward walked in behind her and waited as she wordlessly gazed at everything around her, they eventually went upstairs to Bella's old room. She barely recognized it as her room now that the purple sheets from the bed were gone.

"Before I left Forks, I left you with mere memories of our short time together, unbeknownst to you. These were your birthday gifts. I wanted you to forget about me, to live a normal human life, but still I couldn't bear to take these things with me," He said. Then he went directly to a spot on the hardwood floor and pulled off a floorboard revealing things that he had left with her.

Bella's eyes went wide; she dipped down to her knees to look at the hidden treasures which had been under her floorboards the whole time.

Looking down, she picked up a CD,

"That has all the songs I composed for you on my piano," he said.

Then Bella found more pictures of them. And plane tickets, she looked at the printing on them, they were tickets to Phoenix, to see Renee she guessed. She looked down at the items all laid out in front of her and was amazed. Everything she'd been told, about her old life and the Cullen's and becoming a vampire, all seemed less and less like a dream all of a sudden.

This was real, Edward was real, and she was an immortal vampire. She figured she could sit around the rest of her eternity angry and sad, but she knew she was stronger than that, she had to be if she could make it through what she had. Bella bottled up her self-pity, grabbed the things from her old bedroom floor and took a last look at her bedroom before going back out to the car. Edward got in the driver's seat and she, the passenger's seat.

"Bella there is something I still haven't told you yet. I only came to your house to get those things, really we were supposed to have already left town; this was the plan all along."

"What do you mean? What about the others? Where are we going?" asked Bella.

"Our family are leaving too, I will explain everything on the way to Seattle where we will meet the others, I promise. For now you just have to trust me," said Edward.

Bella couldn't help but in this moment feel completely drawn to him. She thought about Forks, she was finally leaving the place which had been the very thing that had entrapped her in it's cloudy suffocating air, was this finally goodbye to her old town, her old life?

She looked at Edward, all he had ever been since she woke up from her transformation was kind to her, he was at this point, a force of gravity that pulled her into him when she didn't know if she wanted to be. As she looked at him, she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time, something all the confusion and loss had taken from her, she felt safe.

"I trust you," she finally said.

Around her, Bella could hear the voices of crowds, engines of buses and car horns, she could see, more vividly than ever before, the traffic lights, the neon billboards and all the humans of different sizes, shapes and shades, moving about on the sidewalks, from the window of the car. She had hunted right before Edward drove to Seattle, so the blood didn't faze her as much. She had forgotten how it felt to be in the city, to be in Seattle. It felt surreal to her.

She had been given eye contacts Edward had received from Alice for her. The venom would burn them out every half hour but it was better than walking around like a monster. Right now, Bella wanted desperately to experience being among people again, and now that night had fallen, she could be. It felt as if her old life had never happened, she was thinking nothing of the grief she left behind in Forks, right now she was alive.

"Where are we meeting your family?" she asked.

"We won't be seeing them until later tonight, they should be packing their things about now," he replied.

"Maybe we should walk around, you know, kill time" she said.

Edward glanced at her, studying her, and replied,

"I don't know, you haven't had much experience with humans since being changed, even being in this car is taking a huge risk for a newborn."

"I'm in control Edward," she insisted.

Edward thought for a moment and then he said,

"Promise you'll let me know if you are about to lose control," Edward said.

"I promise," she said.

They parked in a quieter area but had made their way to the main street. They walked a human pace down the concrete sidewalk; Bella soaked in everything around her with heightened senses. The street vendors, the performers, the people, all seemed like characters in her little world.

"I never thought I'd actually enjoy noisy places like this, but now everything feels so different, so..."

"So much more enhanced, it's one of those things that come with the transformation. We can see and hear everything crystal clear, our minds are always absorbing everything around us, you're able to notice more, do more," Edward said. "And because you are a newborn, you're more prone to feelings of impulsiveness and uncontrollable feelings of energy and excitement. Some, like Emmett would say it's the best part of being a new vampire."

"And what do you say?" Bella asked.

Edward smiled that crooked smile she found herself gawking at, "Sometimes, a little fun is good."

"According to your brother's, you're the fun-hating brother," She said.

Edward laughed, "I suppose everyone needs a role to play. That must be mine, according to them."

"I don't even know what my role would be now," she replied, "Is it just me or does everyone seem to be staring at us? You can read their minds can't you?"

Edward looked like he was holding back a laugh and turned them to stare in front of one of the mirrors in the shop window, viewing their reflections.

"Isn't it obvious? Every person in sight is looking at you."

Bella looked at her reflection in window, it's true she did look different; her hair was shinier, her lips were fuller and rosier, her eyelashes were longer and her facial features were more pronounced and more crisp and smooth, even her clothes fit better than when she was a human. Still Edward's words made her snort sarcastically.

"Fine, don't believe me then, but it's the truth," he said.

"I believe you; it's just weird that's all."

"What's weird about it?" he asked.

"Let's just say I was never Miss Beauty pageant material as a human."

"You're right," said Edward. "You were far too stunning for a pageant."

They continued walking down a quieter street, there were not as many humans around here.

"I'm beginning to think that you just love to argue," Bella said.

"Wrong, I think you like to argue, maybe that's what your new vampire identity should be, the stubborn newborn," said Edward, who smiled smugly at her.

Bella's mouth dropped in disbelief and she shot back, "Aha so you're impertinent too, I'm learning something new about you every second."

"I believe 'accurate', would be a better description," he replied.

Bella smiled as they reached the end of the alley they had walked through, they both smelled something that could not be mistaken as fresh blood. Edward felt Bella tense as she fought to control her instincts, Edward led her back into the brick leaned up against the wall, fighting her instincts. Edward said, "Hold your breath and focus on my voice and nothing else."

The seconds counted down and Bella seemed to regain her control by the second,

"Now breathe out," Edward said.

She did, and although her throat still tingled with a fiery sensation, she felt under control.

"That was amazing Bella, you only needed a few seconds to regain your control," Edward said.

She looked him in his eyes and felt a sudden connection with him that had been lingering at bay before. It seemed to suddenly come to life.

"I think you easily distract me. Whenever you're with me, my thirst seems to go away. When you're not, the thirst, the anger and the pain comes back," She said.

Edward looked at her deeply with his searching golden eyes.

"I'll never leave your side, if that's what makes you happy Bella," he said.

"This all seems so familiar, you, everything. It feels like all these memories are being kept at bay in the back of my head somewhere and I'm fighting to get them back," she said.

She was still against the brick wall and realized how close they were now. It was if her hand could not help but reach up to touch his perfectly chiseled face, his silky golden brown hair.

She suddenly realized what she was doing and pulled away slightly, she was happy she could not blush anymore, otherwise her cheeks would have been bright red.

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling her hand away only to feel him grasp it in his.

"Don't," He said. "Don't let go of those memories."

She couldn't help feeling the adrenaline in her heart when he took her hand. It felt so protective and secure that she hadn't even noticed that he was leading her away from the busy street, towards where the lake was. The water shimmered from the moonlight ray as it painted a precise picture of the perfect scene. If she was still human, her heart may have been pounding inside of her chest, frightened to death by the fact that she was beginning to feel like she was falling head over heels for this vampire she barely knew other than through stories of the past and pictures.

They sat on the edge of the beach, and looked out at the dark water; the only light was from the moon. It was quiet here, peaceful, she hadn't felt this calm since before she could remember. He looked into her eyes, their heads were on the same level as they sat on the sand.

"What color were your eyes when you were human?" she asked.

"They were green," he replied, looking out at the vast stretch of waves. "Like my mothers."

She glanced over at him, she could tell there was so much more to him beneath the surface. All of a sudden, she wanted to know everything about this mysterious, brooding Cullen who looked beyond, across the lake. She told herself to quit her worrying and doubts. Those were things that held human Bella back, she was a vampire and she wasn't going to let anything scare her anymore. She leaned in closer to him, he was so close she could smell his scent, she knew she would never forget it.

She tilted her head slightly, she couldn't help but stare at his face for as long as she could prolong this moment.

"Bella," he started to say and then he paused.

She looked at him, she showed him that she wanted this and he didn't say another word, he leaned in so close, everything felt so natural and yet amazing to her when his lips reached her jaw, tracing the lines of her ear to her collarbone. They were so warm and against Bella's skin. She reached her hands up to his shoulders, where she entwined them with his soft brown hair. He put his hands down at her waist, pulling her closer to his chest when they were about to break all boundaries and kiss. Then he froze and pulled away.

She looked at him with surprise; surprise that he stopped and surprise that they she was with him like this in the first place.

"We are being watched," he said, any signs of his previous affection and tenderness turned off.

He got up instantly. Bella was still on the sand, she was still shocked, she looked around for any signs of anyone else, all she saw were a few stray humans wandering about in the dark.

"Oh no," Edward said as he suddenly seemed to vanish. Bella searched for any sign of where he went. It didn't take long before he was back where she was and running a hand through his hair in a stressed, urgent way. "I can't believe I could be so stupid."

"What do you mean?" Bella asked. She was worried; everything had happened so fast, "Edward?"

"How could I have let him get passed me?" he said to himself.

"Please. Tell me what's going on."

"The wolf pack knows you are a vampire, they sent someone to track us down and they have seen us. The Quileute's know we turned you; I have to warn my family. There are too many wolves for them to take on at once and all of them survive. If they don't leave before the pack gets to the house ..."

"Don't tell me they are going there to kill them," Bella said.

Edward just looked at her, and then he took out his cell phone.

A/N: So I figure you don't want to hear my rant about my crazy week and why I couldn't update in a while so I'll just skip right to the point. The next chapter's going to be pretty intense with the wolves and the Cullen's; I've already written half of it so you should expect it up soon. Be sure to let me know some of your thoughts in the review section :)


	13. Sacrifices

**Chapter 13- Sacrifices**

"Jasper, toss me that bag," Emmett said, as he packed things into his jeep parked outside of the garage.

Night had fallen; it was pitch black in the surrounding woods, apart from the light coming from the house. The trees swayed in the dark as the breeze pushed their red and orange leaves around. It was clear fall was well on its way by the chilly air outside, not that any of them noticed.

"Here you go," said Jasper as he threw a hefty duffel bag at him.

Carlisle and Esme were in their room, Esme placed some of her items in a small bag at her dresser.

"Carlisle, something doesn't seem right, what if Bella and Edward were seen?" She said.

Carlisle shrugged on a thin grey jacket and said, "Edward left town already, besides he would have known if they had been seen and informed us of it," Esme was still troubled, Carlisle could tell. He walked over to her, taking her arms in his, she looked up at him with golden eyes.

"Everything's going to be fine. Never mind the wolves or Victoria. We've got Bella back; we've got our son back. We'll leave Forks and we can start over, and we'll be alright as long as our family is together. Right now that's all that matters," he said.

Esme looked at him, "your right, I shouldn't worry, we can put all of this behind us."

They grabbed their bags and shut off the light behind them as they walked out of their room at a typical human pace, something they had perfected after decades of blending in with society.

"Perhaps after all this we can pay a visit to your island, now that I am currently unemployed. I should have plenty of free time," Said Carlisle, wrapping an arm over her shoulders as they walked.

"It has been while since our last vacation," Esme replied.

"Yes, it feels like I haven't seen the sun in a century. Let's see, what else do I miss?" said Carlisle.

"No prying ears," she said looking up at him with a grin.

Carlisle replied, "Ah yes, no one listening into our bedroom all day and night while we-"

"Woah you two, save the r rated talk for when you're on the island far, far away from us," shouted Emmett from downstairs.

Esme giggled. "Exactly my point," Carlisle replied jokingly. "You know some privacy would be nice," he called loudly, knowing Emmett would be able to hear either way.

"Hey, don't look at me, tell that your other son, the king of all eavesdroppers" said Emmett, referring to Edward.

They made it outside where the rest of their family were waiting. They would take a separate car than the others, by morning, with the way they drove, the family would already be out of Washington. Carlisle did not expect to return for a long time, even by vampire standards.

Alice complained as she opened her car door,

"I hate that I can't see anything. It's like my visions are being road blocked by something."

"That's strange Alice. You can't see a single thing?" Esme said.

Alice paused for a moment closing her eyes to focus, "Nothing."

All of a sudden Carlisle's phone vibrated, he checked it,

"It's from Edward," he said as he answered, "Edward what is it?"

"You have to leave immediately, one of the Quileute's, they saw Bella. He's already sent the message to the others. I don't know what they are planning, but I know that it's likely to be bad, the strength of the pack has grown tremendously I saw it in the boy's mind."

The line went dead; Carlisle looked at his family who were watching silently. Then, as if the wolves had waited for the very perfect moment to throw the Cullen's off guard, their shadows appeared, deep in the forest. Their eyes shone in the dark and the family heard growls ripping from their mouths, and smelled the familiar wolf scent which was foul to vampires.

"Well looks like they didn't come to talk anymore," said Emmett, as usual he was completely unfazed by the fact that their lives were on the line.

"Carlisle? It's your call on this one," Jasper said.

"Whatever you choose to do, we're with you," said Alice.

Carlisle looked at his family, and then to Esme. How he hated bloodshed,. He had spent over 3 centuries completely avoiding it. Killing dozens of high school age boys from the reserve did not seem in the least bit appealing to him. Most of them were so inexperienced, having only recently undergone their transformations, they were practically children. But then again, the idea of anything happening to his family was out of the question.

He had only a few seconds to make a decision, he knew the treaty, once it was broken it was completely useless and there could be a full blown war between species. It was beginning to seem that his family was being viewed as a major threat. The werewolves didn't just feel it their obligation to kill him and his very powerful coven, they wanted to, for their own sanity's.

"They aren't here to talk, I can sense it," Rosalie said.

"Who needs to talk?" said Emmett.

"Carlisle?" said Esme.

He handed his wife his phone, on it, he had typed in half a second,

**When I give the word, you and the others must run. Don't look back.**

Then he kissed a speechless Esme gently on the forehead, and made his way towards the trees.

"Carlisle no," Rosalie called.

"What does he think he's doing?" Emmett said.

Esme just looked at him with wide eyes as he disappeared into the trees; she looked like she was in a state of shock.

"I'll go with him," said Jasper, he was about to take off running.

"No," Esme and Alice both said in unison.

"What?" asked Jasper. "We can't just let him go alone, it's too risky."

"He wants you to stay here," Esme said.

~o~o~o~

"This is my fault," Edward said miserably as he stood at the railing on the roof of an old apartment building, on the street where they had parked, "If something happens to any of them, it will be because of my own incompetence."

Bella was on the middle of the roof, she couldn't help but feel guilty that technically she was the thing that had distracted him; she was also the one who started this whole mess between the wolves and the Cullen's in the first place.

"Edward, I can't just stay here wondering if they're alright or not, I am the cause of this. I know some of the Quileute's, I can maybe speak to them, convince them that-"

"No," he said. "Never mind the past or you being the daughter of Chief Swan. In their eyes, you are just another cold-hearted, bloodsucking vampire. You are one of us now; they won't listen to what you have to say."

"They did once, when you and your family first arrived. How else could you have made treaty with them?"

"That was long ago, Ephraim Black and those descendants have long since died. These new wolves won't give us a second chance after what we did to you."

"You didn't hurt me, you saved me." Bella replied.

"Not in their eyes. Besides, it's far too dangerous for you to go back, my family are good fighters, they have experience. You've only been a vampire for a few days."

"I am stronger than all of you," she said.

Edward did not answer, he just looked away over the rail, to the streets beneath the building.

"So you'd choose me over your family?" she questioned sharply.

Edward did not turn when he replied, "You are my family, and they are yours. We have sacrificed for each other for years; they would do the same for you."

"Well I don't want any more sacrifices," said Bella. "This is my battle, I have to face it for once."

Edward felt a whoosh of air and a sudden silence come upon the atmosphere, apart from the noise from down below.

"Bella?" he said, as he turned and scanned the roof with his eyes, there was no sign of her anywhere.

He turned his head towards the northeastern direction from the top of the tall building, and saw, miles and miles away, peering into the distance with his micro vision, massive trees, and a thick forest which could only lead to one town.

A/N: Please tell me what you think of what's happened so far. **A lot** happened in this chapter and the last one so you must have some comment. I really want to know:) I know you're probably getting sick of the cliff hangers but I PROMISE, the next chapter will have the real Cullen's vs. werewolf action, and now that Bella's going back, that will definitely stir things up a bit. I haven't really decided how bad things are gonna go, or how good things are gonna go for Carlisle and the Cullen's yet, I suppose it will depend on my mood when I'm writing it.


	14. After Our War

**Chapter 14~ After Our War**

The wolves looked uneasy when they saw Carlisle approaching. They seemed like they were getting ready to attack but something happened that filled Carlisle with some relief, the grey wolf -obviously the alpha- was not letting them. They all looked to him for the approval which he did not give.

So instead the wolves growled at Carlisle, fiercely now. Carlisle responded by with a gesture of peace. Now he was standing face to face with a massive pack of over sized wolves, the only creatures powerful enough to actually pose a legitimate threat to his kind. Carlisle counted 13 of them, all of them snarling viciously at him until their leader gave a bark of reprimand, and they went silent.

Carlisle spoke,

"I know what you all have come here for, and believe me or not, but my intentions are not to harm any of you. There has been a great misunderstanding which I have come to sort out, verbally that is. Sometime in the 1920s when my family and I first moved here, your ancestor, Ephraim Black and I had made a pact, a treaty which we have upholder for almost a century. Now, you can throw away 100 years of peace between the humans on your reservation and us, and wage a war against my family which will certainly account for lost lives, or I will willingly discuss this with your leader, in human form. The choice is yours."

Carlisle watched as the wolves seemed to communicate among themselves; mentally they were able to share each other's thoughts. Carlisle couldn't help but think of his family, what did it mean if the wolves decided to go through with their first plan? Did it mean his end, their end?

Knowing his stubbornly loyal companions, he was not so sure they would take his order to run, with full knowledge that he's in danger. Emmett and Rosalie would be reluctant; they held an intense connection from so many years with him. They became vampires through Carlisle; being a member of the Cullen family was the only thing they knew in this life. Jasper would go wherever Alice went; they would be alright as long as they were together. Esmé would do whatever it takes to keep her family safe, although it would rip her apart to leave her mate behind.

The alpha looked at Carlisle for a minute and one wolf that had left, came back to bring the grey wolf his jeans which he tossed to him. The large wolf then transformed back into his natural human form and put on the clothing. Carlisle recognized him as Sam Uley, he was the descendant of the beta wolf in the 20's, Levi Uley. He turned to Carlisle with an unfriendly face. He was ready to talk, but the hate radiating from the pack was palpable.

"Alright let's talk. But just know, that if there is anything you or the others are planning, my pack will descend upon your coven, just to make that clear."

"Agreed," said Carlisle. "I assure you, I plan no ill towards you or your pack."

"So tell me vampire, what makes you think my pack should spare you and your coven after what you did to the Swan girl?"

~o~o~o~

Bella ran as fast as she could in darkness, tracing back over the parts of the forest with familiar scents and using her photographic memory to make her way back to the isolated Cullen house. She couldn't wait in safety while those around her were putting their lives on the line. She had a feeling Edward would follow her; although she had not sensed his presence yet, she did not lose any speed, taking advantage of her strength and agility.

She came upon a part of the forest which she did not know but recognized, as if she had been there in a dream long ago. The little clearing was perfectly round, and filled with wildflowers - violet, yellow and soft white. Somewhere nearby, she heard the music of a stream. It was a meadow, but not just any meadow.

"Bella?" a voice from behind called softly.

She spun around, her eyes narrowed in at Edward, he was approaching her.

"I remember this place, I came here once. It feels strange, somewhat... haunted," she said.

"This is where I first told you I loved you. We used to come here often." Edward said, walking closer to her and gently moving away the strand of hair covering her face.

Bella's face went rigid, she felt dizzy if that was even possible for a vampire. She looked up at the vampire in front of her. She turned and faced the other direction, letting out a gasp of shock, surprising Edward.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked; concern laced his voice.

The wind roughly blew her hair back over her face, she didn't notice; she was having too many memories rushing back to her all at once. Their first time meeting in biology class, the conversation in the restaurant after he saved her, meeting his family, their first kiss, James, Victoria, Laurent, her birthday party, when he told her he'd never leave her, and when he left her. She remembered everything. She remembered the grieving, the nightmares, the loss of interest, the suicidal thoughts... She remembered forgetting him, as if her brain had put up its wall of defense from all the pain. After the first few months, she had wondered if she had ever known a family of vampires, ever loved before. She had lost track of that period of her life, and after she jumped off the cliff, fell into the coma, and was turned into a vampire, it had only made that memory loss worse.

But it was all back now. Forks brought back the memories of this beautiful clearing which she'd had nightmares about every night after Edward said he didn't love her, and left.

"Bella, please tell me what's going on," Edward said as he watched her look like she was about to have a minor panic attack. It felt as if her heart was ripped out and all that was left was the scar tissue as a reminder of Edward Cullen. She couldn't look at him now; it was too much for her to bear. So when she felt a hand on her arm and a dark, sensual fragrance of desire lurking in the air, she broke free of his grasp. And she ran.

~o~o~o~

"You should know that it was always my intention to save Bella through proper medical treatment. However, I did intend to save her at all costs, and for that I do not apologize. She would have died if she was not turned into a vampire," said Carlisle.

"So you turned her into a monster instead?" Sam said, his rash and dismissive accusations were testing Carlisle's patience.

"My family are not monsters; we do not kill humans, as I've made clear. We would have left peacefully if you'd let us. Our things are packed, we were just about to leave town when you and your pack decided to start a battle."

"You started this battle, vampire. You decided to create this family, of... of demons. You are the one responsible," said Sam.

"Maybe so, but remember that you are a descendant of an original wolf who thought otherwise of my family and I. They made that treaty, because they saw something in us that they saw in none of the other covens that had passed into their land, humanity. That is something demons and monsters cannot possess. You may believe the bright young girl filled with selflessness and compassion is gone now that Bella is one of us, but I assure you that she is still in there. You only have to look past your judgments and biases to see that," Carlisle said.

Sam looked at the coven leader before him, "Maybe," Sam said, his glare softening. "But that still doesn't change what she is. It is true, you are wiser than the other vampires I've come across, you show skillful reasoning, but that still doesn't change what you are."

"None of us can change what we are; we can only make a choice. It's the choice to hold onto the good or invite in the bad, same as with humans, same as with your kind."

All of a sudden, some of the wolves turned their heads to the right of them. They became defensive again. They had heard someone, or something."

"What is that?" Sam said, a glare forming his features once again.

Carlisle listened to the sounds, picked up a scent, then another. They were none other than vampire scents. And he knew exactly whose."

"You swore to me you intended no attack," said Sam, who was quickly looking like he was going to erupt.'

Carlisle tried to calm him down, "I kept to my word, these vampires intend no harm."

"Lies, you said your family would not come close to us, I was warned of your tricks. And why am I surprised I was lied to by a vampire. Well don't worry, now you won't have another chance to play any more of your twisted games."

"All of you, run," Carlisle said, knowing his family would hear him. Then he took off back towards the direction he'd come from, there was no way he could take on all these wolves alone and survive.

"Now!" said Sam, and with that, his pack took off after him and his family, in the direction of the house.

A war had erupted.

~o~o~o~

Edward could hear the snarls and the shuffling a midst the trees; feel the shaking of the ground beneath him as he felt the pack of shape-shifters make their way towards his home. He had lost Bella's scent and right now, he couldn't ignore the fact that his family was in danger nearby. His feet practically carried him towards the house and he was much faster than the wolves, so he arrived there before they could.

"Edward!" Esme exclaimed, running towards him as he approached the house, "What are you doing here?"

"The wolves, I can hear their thoughts. They have been ordered to kill us," said Edward.

"You all heard what Carlisle said," said Esme. "We must go now."

"I can't do that Esme," replied Edward. "Not without Carlisle, my family is in danger, so I will fight to protect it."

"Like we always have," Emmett said.

"We're not going to let these new mutts drive us out of our town, we were here before them," Rosalie said.

"I'm with you," said Alice.

"Me too," Jasper said.

"Carlisle is near," said Edward.

They stood at different places in front of their home, they could hear the wolves getting closer and closer, and then Carlisle took his place with them, accepting that this had come what he feared the most. Seconds later, the beasts emerged out of the forested area, and the battle commenced.

~o~o~o~

To the naked human eye, they would have looked like windmills of destruction, dancing around gracefully as they fought like machines. The wolves, with their natural inclinations towards slaughtering vampires, had an edge to their fighting. However the Cullen's, with the survival of their family as their motivation, combined with their years of skill and practice, matched with their own unique abilities, were just as good if not better. However they were still outnumbered and it was going to be quite difficult to end this battle with all of their family alive and well.

Eventually, when Jasper and one of the wolves went head to head, they ended up breaking through a window and tumbling inside of the house. Some of the others had followed to help their pack member, and the rest of the Cullen's, seeing Jasper in danger had followed and held off the others as Jasper managed to grab hold of the wolf's neck, and snap it with a heavy force only a supernatural could wield. This first kill on behalf of the Cullen's was just the tip of the iceberg that threw the pack into a frenzy.

Furniture had been crushed, walls were broken, counters were reduced to piles of debris on the ground. The piano was in a heap of dust and the hardwood was ripped apart, revealing the foundation cement. None of them noticed, they were completely focused on the task at hand, kill or be killed.

The next wolf was killed by Emmett. He was by far the most useful crushing force they had, with his strength, he barely had to use any effort at all to break most of the bones in their bodies in one movement. Alice was another useful tool, she confused her opponents, moving so fast they became distracted with trying to find her, they didn't even realize the other's had sprung on them, before it was too late.

Sam was by far the strongest fighter; he was the one to look out for. The front wall of the garage had been obliterated, this was where Edward and Sam's eyes crossed. Sam's giant wolf eyes filled with fury as he saw Edward sink his sharp teeth into a member of his pack, snapping his neck and tossing the corpse away. Sam had been waiting to get to Edward this whole time. He'd been the one to carry Bella out of the woods after Edward broke her heart and left her there, he'd seen what a wreck she was before and after Charlie died, and now he stood face to face with the one responsible and he would avenge Charlie for destroying his only daughter.

Edward was reading all of Sam's flashback memories of Bella, and flinched inwardly, wanting so much for his mind to reject the images that appeared. Sam ran towards him, his powerful sharp claws had scratched out the light on the roof as he sprung across the room, letting the bulb fall to the ground and smash into a million tiny pieces. It was then that a fire started, the flame had hit the curtain and quickly spread around to the wooden table of the garage.

But none of them could worry about that now, especially Edward, who had a massive alpha wolf aiming at his throat. In seconds the flame had taken hold of the walls, isolating Sam and Edward as they fought like lightning bolts, each of them dodging one's attacks swiftly and skilfully placing their blows as best they could.

_Did you really think we would let you get away with ruining an innocent girl's life?_

Sam said in his thoughts as he aimed with his powerful jaw at Edward's throat. Edward replied as he looked for a way to retaliate, "It's not safe for humans and vampires to be together the way we were. I was only doing what I thought was best for her. Would you rather me turned her into a vampire instead of leaving?"

_I'd rather you had stayed among your own kind in the first place and left the humans alone, _Sam shot back.

Edward grabbed hold of Sam and threw the wolf at some cupboards which caused a tube of gasoline to break apart, hitting the car. The flames made their way to Emmett's jeep, igniting the car seats, travelling dangerously close to the gasoline compartment. When it finally did, Sam did not notice as he was recovering from the hard throw. With his front claws, Sam took Edward by surprise and sprung at him, digging them into Edwards as he threw the vampire to the floor.

_I will kill you now, mind reader._

As Edward was pinned on the ground, Sam over top of him and ready to rip his throat out, he saw how far the flames had gotten to taking Emmett's vehicle completely. The jeep was in Edward's view behind Sam.

Edward counted down in his head, four, three, two, one. That was how long it took before Sam dug his massive giant fangs into him and how long it took before the car exploded, taking them both along with it.

Outside, the wolves realized what had happened to their leader. Instead of backing down out of fear for their own lives, their grief over the loss of alpha made them fight even harder. They made it their mission to destroy the Cullen's out of vengeance, for Sam. The Cullen's desperately needed to see if Edward was alive or not in the garage which had gone up in flames from the explosion. But they were so occupied trying to stay alive, that it was impossible.

Edward had landed across the room, underneath a searing hot piece of shelf metal which he tried to move, but his arms had been badly damaged from the bite of Sam's massive jaws. And half his body had horrible jagged cracks and burnt from the venom which tried to heal his body. He used his legs to slide out from the horrible heat of the shelf and dodged the flames around him. He clenched his teeth together and let out a cry of pain as he felt the partially unattached part of his left arm, scrape against the venom which rushed to his shoulder. His nerves were telling him no to move. Edward turned his head and saw Sam on the other side of the wall.

He had transformed back into his human form and was gasping for air through the thick smoke that was suffocating both of them. Edward didn't need to breathe, but Sam did. Sam had burns all over his body, they were healing, but it would take a while before the damage was completely healed. And with no oxygen in the room, Sam did not have long.

Edward could move no further, that bite had done serious damage and as the force of the explosion had thrown them both from where they were, Sam's teeth had come close to splitting Edward in half as his refused to loosen his grip, determined to see his ill through. Those were due to natural wolf instincts; always make sure the vampire is dead. But even if he did manage to get out, the walls were consumed by fire and he didn't have the strength or the ability to break through it, at the moment, they were both trapped.

Edward lay on the floor in agony from the deep gashes in his upper half. He knew he had to try and escape. If the fire reached his vampire skin, it could kill him if it wasn't put out fast enough. He looked at Sam, he wasn't moving anymore, the smoke, combined with the pain and damage of the burns had made him unconscious. Edward moved his wrist away from touching the fire and when he turned his head, he saw a figure through the smoke. She knelt to carefully grab him to drag get him out. Edward knew who it was, her long, dark brown hair fell over him as he looked at her, feeling a sense of calm come over him.

He wanted to say something, but the smoke was much too thick to even breathe let alone speak. Edward couldn't really move his injured neck, but he tried anyways and tilted his head towards Sam's body. Then he looked to the fire blanket that was always stored in the cabinets near the gasoline which had been smashed. The blanket was unscathed on the floor and Bella hesitantly looked away from Edward, and grabbed it. Then she went over to Sam and threw it over his wounded body and was gone with him in a flash, reluctantly having left a terribly injured Edward in a burning building.

When she got outside she was at the side of the garage, the part hidden from the rest of the house. A few of the wolves surrounded her. They saw her drop Sam to the ground gently and back away slowly from Sam's body. They all looked at each other as if they just witnessed something profound. When she saw that they weren't going to try and kill her, she got back inside the garage. The flames had risen since she'd last been in there. She saw Edward, who struggled to get up and she went over to him, dodging flames, she supported him as they got out through the narrow opening in the wall in which she came. Once outside, Edward dropped to the grass, panting in pain and he looked at Bella who stared at his face, she looked as if she was about to fall apart before she regained control and said to Edward,

"I have to leave now."

"What?" Edward managed to say through struggled breaths. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, I can't stay with you and the others when there is so many memories I have to deal with. I just need some time," she said.

"I don't understand," Edward replied.

"I remember everything Edward. Seeing you now only brings back the pain which I experienced as a human. Tonight we shared a connection, there was something there between us, I cannot stay here as we are now pretending as if the past never happened. It would, overtime, eat away at our relationship until all that's left is guilt and regret and resentment. I'm sorry Edward, but I can't stay. For once I need to figure things out alone, and... you should do the same."

"We can figure things out, everything will work itself out eventually."

She replied, "I don't think it will."

"Bella, I love you," he said with truthfulness and meaning attached to it.

Bella got up and looked away,

"Don't do this. Don't turn off your feelings toward me," he pleaded.

"Goodbye Edward." With that she disappeared into the trees. He was left lying on the grass, broken and wounded, physically and emotionally.

Edward could hear the thoughts of a few of the wolves, they were communicating with the others, telling them what had happened with Sam and Bella and to round up all the injured and the dead from their pack and take off.

And that's what they did, to the rest of the Cullen family's surprise and confusion. And as quickly as the battle had started, it was over. And the destruction it had caused was made clear by just looking around.

Edward's family sped over to look for him when they found him injured. Edward groaned in pain as he was put in the backseat of one of the car's that had been parked outside and had remained unscathed throughout the ordeal. It was Carlisle's black Mercedes and Alice's Porsche they were using to leave.

"Bella was here I can smell her scent, she saved you and Sam didn't she? That's why the wolves spared our family?" asked Carlisle.

Edward weakly nodded.

"Where is she now?" Carlisle asked.

"Gone."

Everyone looked at each other worriedly, but seeing as Edward looked more focused on the pain and looked more upset, than worried for her safety, they figured it would be best if they asked no further questions at the moment.

They gathered into both cars wordlessly, not caring after a night like tonight, to look back at what used to be their home, their family. It was now the symbol of a shattered, burning image of the seemingly never ending struggle they had found themselves in.

A/N: Next chapter is almost fully written. Please, tell me what you thought of this chapter, any suggestions for the future ones maybe? Let me know;)


	15. Binds of Family

** Chapter 15~ Binds of Family**

They drove to a motel on the outskirts of Seattle. It had been a few hours since the incident with the wolves and everyone was wound up pretty tight. Edward's obvious pain didn't help the atmosphere and neither did the fact that Bella was gone and that their home was in shambles, most of it burnt down to the ground.

They were there in the room. Edward was on one of the two beds, most of his left side had to be bandaged, and extensive reattaching had to be done. This was far from comfortable with all that the venom that had to work through his injuries.

He lay, breathing shallowly to try and control the sharp, fiery feeling radiating through half his body. Carlisle and Esme were in no mood to speak after what had occurred only hours ago, the wolves had risked death in order to take out their family, over a simple negotiation and it was not exactly the most heart-warming of things to think about.

Edward said hoarsely, "After this is over, I'm going to kill that mutt-"

"No talking, you'll move your injuries out of place and it will slow down the healing process" Carlisle said.

Rosalie sat on the bench attached to the windowsill, her long blonde hair was thrown back in a messy bun atop her head; this was clearly one of the rare times that she didn't care about her appearance, as much.

"Oh great, we have company," she said. "Two of the dogs have come."

She peeked through and saw them; one was male, one female. The girl had long and slender limbs and short black hair.

"A girl wolf?" Emmett said.

They knocked and Rosalie answered, barely opening the door for them to see inside.

"What?" she answered. "Come to terrorize us and get your wolf tails kicked again."

"It's Carlisle we need to speak to actually," said the female Quileute.

"Well he's busy right now, he's treating my brother's injuries, you know that one's he has thanks to Sam," she replied defensively.

Carlisle came to the door and went outside with them onto the upper walkway of the underpopulated, rundown motel in the ghostly part of town.

"What is it?" Carlisle asked.

"I am Leah and this is Embry," the girl said.

"You're brave coming here after waging war against us only mere hours ago," Said Carlisle.

"Well it's important, it's about one of our other members of the pack, well actually a few but mostly just one; he needs your help," Leah said.

"If I do remember correctly, Bella had all rights to leave Sam in that burning garage after nearly killing Edward. I tried to be gracious with your pack, but your hatred towards our kind has brought you into your predicament. I'm sorry but I can't help you." Carlisle said, turning back towards the door.

"Fine if you won't do it for Sam, then don't, but at least do it for my little brother Seth. He's only 14, just a kid, he wasn't even supposed to come with us. But he showed up anyways, he wanted to be a part of the battle, I was supposed to be looking out for him..." said Leah.

"We all were," said male next to her.

"And because of the decisions we made. He holds the extent of the injury. His bones were crushed by someone in your coven and they healed quickly, but he's in a lot of pain still and we don't know what to do. We know it's our fault, I can't live with myself if anything ever happened to him," Leah said.

"Sam and the others have agreed to discuss some form of an agreement, another treaty, if you would help us," said Embry.

Carlisle stood at the door for a moment, he could feel them looking at him. He turned to face Leah; there was no lie behind her eyes. As much as he wanted to be done with the wolves and move on, it was against everything he stood for, not to help, especially with the offer of peace at hand.

"Tell Sam, my help, in exchange for an alliance. I'll be there later," said Carlisle, and he walked back into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Carlisle, you can't go, Sam will never forgive us," Edward said. "I read his mind, his hatred runs too deep."

"Sometimes people think more intensely at certain times. What they think we did to Bella was cruel, yet they have still taken it upon themselves to seek my help. If their hatred was so great, they would not have done that," Carlisle replied.

Alice stood up from where she was sitting, "have you found anything regarding Bella's whereabouts," asked Esme.

"Not much. All I really got from my visions is that she's gone her own way to sort through some things and to clear her head. It would be too difficult to do with all the reminders of her past around."

"So she just left?" asked Emmett.

"It was her decision and we need to respect that. She's been through a lot and getting all those memories back has only made things worse for her; she just needs some time on her own right now," said Carlisle.

Edward was wordless throughout the entire discussion, his eyes were closed. He was still, once Bella's name was uttered. No one knew what he thought of this, he had shut them all out entirely.

~o~o~o~

Carlisle made his way to La Push and after being greeted, or stared at, by some members of the pack, including Leah and Embry, and Billy Black along with others he did not know. He was lead to a house which was situated off the dirt path in the woods. The whole pack gathered in human form outside.

"Come in," said Leah.

Inside, Billy, and some other council members whispered among themselves. Sam and Carlisle came face to face once again. The alpha had made a full recovery since last night; Carlisle was astounded by his species healing capabilities.

"Thank you, for doing this," said Sam, still with a taste of distrust in his voice, but gracious enough.

Carlisle was then led away by Leah and they traveled through the hallway of the bungalow to a door, which she opened. They stepped into the room.

A woman sat at his bedside, she looked up at them when they entered. She was middle-aged with copper skin, and a thin face, black eyes and hair that reached past her shoulders.

"This is my mother, Sue Clearwater," Said Leah.

"You can help my son?" she asked, she looked worried as any mother would be.

"Yes, but I need to look at the extent of the injuries first however, before I can decide on treatment" said Carlisle.

Sue nodded and got up, she and Leah left the room, closing the door behind them. Carlisle walked to the side table near the bed and placed his bag down.

Leah was right, he was only a kid, and he had a youthful face, short black hair and copper skin just like his mother and sister. He looked at Carlisle with more curiosity than with disdain like the other wolves. He was clearly in pain, by the way he tensed up every time he breathed, but this did not stop him from asking,

"A vampire doctor?" as Carlisle opened up his bag with his medical supplies.

Carlisle replied, "I take it that comes as a shock to you."

"Not really," said Seth. "I figured you Cullen's were weird. Real vampires aren't doctors and they don't go to high school either."

"We're a different type of vampire," Carlisle replied.

"Most of the tribe council members don't think so, but I guess they must like you, if they let you cross the border."

"Your sister tells me you weren't supposed to go with the pack last night," said Carlisle.

"Sam thought I was too young, but they were being so secretive, I had to know what it was all about," said Seth.

Carlisle smiled saying, "Well curiosity is a dangerous thing."

"Ya _now_ I know," the boy replied.

Carlisle carried on with his examination and he found what the problem was.

He touched an area of the left side of his chest, pressing on it lightly and Seth flinched away, grinding his teeth together in pain, but then quickly stopping the action, as clenching his jaw made all the other muscles move, which caused even more discomfort.

It was common in supernatural's to suffer due to rapid healing after an injury or dislocation when broken or fractured bones were not braced properly. They wouldn't heal correctly and in his case, they could end up pressing on nerves or even vital organs.

Carlisle walked back out the door to stand in front of the council members, who were obviously waiting for some diagnosis. Carlisle said,

"In order to fix the damage, a few of his bones must be re-set and healed properly, particularly of the arm, chest and neck. I'm afraid that if his body rejects the morphine I give him, this will be quite difficult for him to physically cope with."

"Do you mean you have to move his bones by breaking them?" questioned Leah.

"His body heals itself at a faster rate than humans and even vampires. When the fractured or broken bone heals before it can be put back in place, the only way to fix it is to move it in any way possible without damaging anything else surrounding it. Most times, the only way of doing this is by re-breaking the bone to re -position it."

"Is there any other way?" asked Sam.

"It is the only method I can see as being of any use for treatment. Healing too quickly is a drawback of your kind, careful measures must be taken to make sure that everything is in its proper place when you are healing, or else it leads to problems like this."

"I will tell the others," Said Sam as he walked out to the porch.

Sue Clearwater looked at Carlisle and said, "If it will make Seth well again, do what you must."

Then she went outside and meanwhile, Billy said to Carlisle,

"I never thought I would trust a vampire, but heck Sam calls the shots around here now. This was his idea, he did this for Leah," said Billy.

"Don't worry Billy; I would never intentionally harm to a patient," said Carlisle.

Billy looked at Carlisle and nodded before he wheeled onto the porch with the others.

Eventually, Carlisle went back into the room where Seth lay, staring at him as if he was the angel of death.

"You're really going to break all my bones?" he exclaimed.

"I'm not going to break all your bones, I just have to re-position the ones that are preventing you from being able to move and breath properly," replied Carlisle.

Carlisle prepared a needle which he injected into his side.

"What is that?" questioned Seth, distrusting as he glanced at it .

"Its morphine, I'm hoping that your body will not reject it so that you will not feel anything," said Carlisle.

They waited, but Seth still could feel everything and Carlisle said,

"Your system is more hostile to foreign substances than I thought, it seems like your blood has rejected painkillers," said Carlisle.

"You're saying this is the only way I'll be able to move properly again?" said Seth.

"I promise I'll do this as quickly as I can, once you heal you will barely remember it," Said Carlisle.

"Okay let's just get this over with," he said, squeezing his eyes shut.

~o~o~o~

Esme and Alice had left to _try_ and enjoy some time in the city, to forget the day's dreary events. Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper stayed behind. Edward's venom still worked to reattach the scarred part of his body where the bite was.

Emmett and Jasper had gone hunting, Rosalie, who'd, hunted only yesterday, let them have their fun, and she stayed behind. The room was silent, apart from Edward's struggle to even out his breathing from the horrible sensation of his venom running throughout his torso and neck. Rosalie sat and read one of Carlisle's books, since her things had been in the trunk of Emmett's jeep during the fire.

She finally plopped the book down beside her and turned to face his direction, Edward flinched away from her glaring expression,

"So it's going to be like this again, is that it?" she asked.

"Like what?" replied Edward.

"Don't play dumb, you know the effect you have on everyone anytime you are not happy. You act as if you're the only one in the family who has problems. I mean really, you're going to let a little break up from the girl you love destroy you, after 100 years on your own?" she asked.

Edward did not respond. He closed his eyes, and wished for the pain to intensify and distract him so he did not have to listen to his sister's voice and thoughts. He could see himself through her eyes, so cold and distant. He opened his eyes to see her waving a hand in front of his face and hearing her calling his name, nagging him in his thoughts

"That's exactly what I mean," Rosalie exclaimed. "You drive people away any time things are not going well and it's incredibly selfish of you. Sure it's okay if you don't want to talk to me, but at least acknowledge that you have others who care for you. Would it kill you to at least pretend to be okay this time; just the least bit happy?"

"You mean like you do?" Edward replied sarcastically. "The deranged psycho blonde with a bad past is so self-sacrificing that she _sometimes_ put on a happy face for her family? You are telling me that I'm a downer? Unbelievable."

"From what I've seen I'm not the one who split up entire families, who drove a wedge between Carlisle and Esme of all people not once, but twice. So I must be doing something a little better than you. But I guess you're the mind reader right? You know me so well. I'm just the scarred little princess who hides her unhappiness beneath a veil of vanity, who just foolishly thought that maybe her brother would get his shit together and stop being such a whiny baby for once," She replied.

"So what's your point?" he asked.

"Look," she said. "I know Bella left you alright, we all do, it sucks, we can agree on that. But I'm just saying if you want to stop being the burden you think you are, you need to do our family a favor. Don't let this be a repeat of two months ago."

With that she left the room and he was left confined to a motel room bed with nothing to think about but his injuries and his own torturous thoughts to dwell in.

~o~o~o~

"It's over Seth, you can rest just make sure you limit movement. We wouldn't want you to shift anything before your body heals again," said Carlisle.

The whole ordeal had taken less than a half hour, but to Carlisle, and all listening, it was far longer than that.

"Trust me doc, I'll do anything to never have to do that again," said Seth, who lay in the bed, his body temperature skyrocketed and his face moist with sweat from the pain he had endured.

Carlisle packed up his things and headed for the door, before Seth said,

"You know, you 'cold ones' don't seem as evil as the council members make you out to be. I only thought of you as the bad guy last night because I was told to, but now that I see you, you don't seem bad at all. So, I think it was wrong the pack attacked you guys last night."

Carlisle looked back at him and said, "Unfortunately, the council was correct about vampires, to a certain extent. Not all of us 'cold ones' are so kind Seth, but you seem to posses an intuitive judgement about others. It's a good trait to have, you should keep it with you always."

Carlisle left, closing the door behind him and walked down the hall to the front porch. Everyone was there, Sue Clearwater stood up.

Carlisle said, "If he limits his movement, he'll be fine. His body will re-heal itself."

Sue sighed a breath of relief and after thanking Carlisle, she went inside.

Sam stepped forward and held out his hand, a sign of peace between them, "I wish this had gone differently Carlisle," he said.

Carlisle took his hand and shook it. "I never wanted any harm to come to your tribe, truly. But whatever damage my family has done, whatever lives taken last night, I cannot apologize for. We were ready to leave town peacefully if necessary, but a battle was insisted upon and we acted in self-defence."

The members of the council looked at each other. Sam spoke,

"We understand that. What you said about Bella, not losing her humanity, you were right about that and I guess I'm in her debt now and yours for Seth. Let's just say that there aren't many doctors we can go to in times like these."

Carlisle said, "Just know that I consider your pack and my coven as allies not enemies. If that's all, I should take my leave now."

Sam nodded and Carlisle got into his car and drove away from the house, down the road out of the camp.

He'd reached the edge of La Push when he saw, below the hill in the distance, a grey cloud of smoke rose up from a part of the trees. It was coming from the reservation. It was large, a bonfire, a ritual burning honouring the dead during a funeral among the people of La push. The dead bodies were laid ceremoniously around the fire, there were 5 out of the 13 that had attacked them. Seeing the bodies of those boys, even from a distance, seeing the grieving parents and the pack members and elders gathered around, hearing the ceremonious drum, Carlisle was reminded as to why he didn't want to fight in the first place.

He watched as the smoke rose up into the evening sky. He realized that they all possessed something in common, even as they were fighting to the death. They were willing to put their lives on the line defending their family. That was the thing that Sam understood and respected about the Cullen's. He could relate to that unwavering loyalty they each had to their own.

It was the only thing keeping him and the other Cullen's as they were with each other. They were not a mere coven, with each other only for convenience, security or amusement, willing to rip each other's throats out as soon as one became a liability. They were with each other because they were linked as one.

Carlisle took out his phone and saw that he had 1 missed call. He was surprised when he saw that the unexpected call was from a member of the Denali coven, it was Eleazar's number.

~o~o~o~

Night was falling quickly and Edward's injuries were becoming slightly more bearable. He had spent the last 3 hours alone, lying in a motel room. It was times like these he wished he could sleep. Maybe Rosalie was right, he couldn't let this destroy him, he had to be stronger than that.

Edward couldn't take being still any longer. He had to move, if that meant that his body would not heal as fast so be it. He put on his jacket carefully over his bandages, and left the motel room, shutting the door behind him. He walked and walked until it got dark, to the same building where he had parked his Volvo when he'd been with Bella.

He climbed onto the roof once again. Remembering that up to this point, he had been having the best night he had with Bella in a long time. He had felt a connection with her.

As he looked beyond the city limits, the light shone from the stores and streetlamps and billboards, and he could almost feel Bella beside him, remember how she smelled, how she spoke. He sat on the roof of the tall apartment, leaned up against the concrete wall on the edge of the platform.

Someone was approaching from the door on the roof, a human.

"How did you get up here?" she asked with a curious expression.

Edward saw her, she looked only about 20 or so. She had dark curly hair which reached the middle of her back. She lived in the building, and had come up like she sometimes did, by picking the lock of the door to the roof, to watch the light show that was put on as a tourist attraction by the lake.

"The same way you did," Edward said.

"Well I guess we're the only ones here who know where the best place is to watch Seattle light up. I've never seen you around here before; did you just move in? To be honest, you don't look like someone who lives around these parts, where are you from?" she asked, she sat down a few feet away from him.

"I'm from Forks," Edward replied.

"Ah so a small town boy," she said. "So what are your here in this part of Seattle for?"

"Running, I guess," he said.

"From who? From Forks?" she asked

"My family," he said.

"Why what's wrong with them?"

Edward paused and she said, turning back to face the city,

"I know I'm nosy, you don't have to answer that."

"They care too much for their own good," Edward said. "I'll never be who they want me to be."

She looked as if she could relate. "I see, so the demanding family syndrome."

Edward looked out into the distance from the roof to see the crowds gathering by the lake.

"They think I should quit being such a loner, and a downer and yet they still don't want me to leave. They would rather I change and become this bright, cheerful individual I haven't been for a very long time."

"I spent too long trying to please my parents, eventually I just said screw it, it's my life, accept me or not. It just seems like trying to live up to other's expectations will only lead to nowhere, being who you are won't."

Edward thought of the human girl's words, he spent the last 100 years thinking himself a monster compared to Carlisle and Esme. He'd never accepted himself.

"Easier said than done," Edward said.

"Well everyone's got to try at some point," she replied.

Edward half smiled.

"Sorry, I'm really into humanities," She said.

"No, actually for what it's worth, I think your observations are entirely accurate."

They looked across the batch of stores and buildings out to the lake; a carnival was set up around it. The ferris wheel was the tallest thing there, the yachts sailed on the dark water. Suddenly, the whole place exploded into an array of bright lights and colors. The cruise ship, the fair, along the lights along the dock all went crystal bright and the crowds around it clapped and cheered.

"So what's your name?" She asked, turning to find the place where he sat completely empty. She looked around the roof, he had vanished.

Edward sped down the sleek highway in his Volvo that night. It felt nice to drive again; he needed some form of release. He knew his family cared for him, yet still he wanted nothing more than to take off and live the brooding self pitying life he naturally gravitated towards. But the one thing holding him back was the loyalty to a group, a coven, a family. Although they irritated him the majority of the time, he loved them and he had to face his battles with them.

But there was still one thing he could not let escape him. He thought of it as he drove through the streets, he got closer and closer to the lake where the carnival and the lights shone. He got out of his car and walked down to the edge of the lake. In the water, the lights of the Ferris wheel were reflected, and the noise in the distance was of children playing, chattering voices, people's thoughts flooding from every direction.

He got out his cell phone. He held it up to his ear and waited as it rang. The other end picked up,

"Hello?"

Edward spoke at the sound of the beep, "Bella, it's me."

"Edward... I really can't-" she started.

Edward said, "I'm just calling to tell you that I'm looking at the most beautiful view right now on the lake, and all I can think of how is much I wish you were here with me. I know you need time, so I'm willing to give you that, just know I'll always be here," and then he clicked off the phone and looked up at the moon with a sense of hope he had been lacking before. He felt accepting and more relaxed. Perhaps it was the new found sense, maybe foolishly so, that everything would turn out alright.

He made his way back up the steps of the beach to the pathway reaching his car. He turned the corner of the dark jogging path to the quieter end of the street, farther from the commotion by the fair. And in front of his Volvo, he saw her. Her bronze eyes so crystal clear, that one could see the world in them. Her hair was a reddish blonde, radiant and shining. She wore a fitted double-breasted blue-sage trench coat and leather high heeled boots which reached her ankles. Edward was surprised to see that it was Tanya who stood there waiting for him.

Her voice was light and smooth like he'd always remembered it, "Hello Edward."

A/N: This was more of an "aftermath" type of chapter. The Cullens managed to make peace again with the wolves. Edward obviously struggled with some inner demons, but it seems like he's finally starting to accept the situation a bit, as he told Bella he'd give her long as she needs to sort things out. Also, for those who hate Tanya, don't kill me, but you'll all just have to wait to find out what she is here for and also what Eleazar called Carlisle's cell phone for.;) Comments?


	16. Riley

**Chapter 16~ Riley**

St. Louis, New Orleans

The moon hung high and full in the starless sky as bells sounded and trumpets and jazz music echoed through the streets. There was a party tonight, humans danced and paraded down the road, wearing their vibrant beads and smiling and laughing by the pier where a ferry boat party could be clearly seen and heard out in the lake. The smell of food and liquor was buzzing through the streets everywhere they went.

Riley Biers made his way through the crowd, the only expressionless face among them. When he was human he may have enjoyed an atmosphere like this one. He often found himself gazing at the people as they had the time of their fragile lives, reminiscing of his old life. But he quickly destroyed any of those feelings; he had a duty now to Victoria. He had a growing army of newborn vampires to watch over and enemies to look out for. There was no room for parties and fun.

When night was almost over and the sun was about to come up, he got further and further from the crowd of people and the streets got emptier as he moved to the joyless part of town. It was the part that only the brave or stupid came during the night. Victoria had found a hidden place for he and the newborns to stay during daytime. It was the basement of an old uninhabited building in an alley of the city. He walked down the murky dark narrow pathway and down the black iron steps to a doorway, taking him to a dark hallway with a door. There was no point in locking it, any human who made it to this door would be dead in an instant anyways.

Riley opened it and stepped inside, the front room was dusty and dimly lit. The basement was large and spread out, separated by stone walls. There were supporting poles and wooden boards and there were old ragged couches and a table where some of the newborns played cards and gambled whatever they had stolen the night before. Windows were boarded up; Victoria had instructed Riley to tell the newborns that the sun would kill them, even if only one ray of light touched their vampire skin, they would burn and die. It was all part of Victoria's strategy for control. None of the newborns knew of, or had seen Victoria; she would come and go, leave a new set of instructions for Riley and be gone the next morning.

Now Riley stood in the doorway of the room. He scanned the place in one motion of his eyes and saw that only 16 out of 23 vampires had returned before sunrise. Then he looked at the heap of ashes scattered on the floor, there had been a fight. Seven newborns had been killed. His red eyes burned with rage and the whole room went silent as he walked closer towards the ashes, he could still smell the smoke remaining.

As if Victoria wasn't angry enough with him after he'd failed her when they'd tried to capture mind reader Cullen and kill the human girl. Now he had managed to let seven of her newborns be killed, she was going to be livid. Riley controlled his breathing, fighting against every nerve not to slaughter every vampire in his sight and he asked,

"Who is responsible for this?"

None of the newborns answered, Riley's self control was tarnished,

"WHO, is responsible for this!"

He spun around to close his eyes in on one of the vampires, his head down and he was smirking. It was an incredibly muscular vampire, the youngest, only about 16 years old with black hair and with a known aggressive impulsiveness. This was useful in battle, but when it came to following simple rules, he was the worst of the bunch. Riley moved at vampire speed and stood directly in front of him.

"Raoul," Riley said.

"They were trying to kill me Riley, swear," Raoul said, smiling a cocky grin as if this was a game.

"How many times must I have to keep replacing the vampires you keep killing?" Riley shouted. He moved at a vampire speed and gripped Raoul's neck in a choke hold from behind before saying,

"How many!" Riley yelled.

"Riley okay I'm sorry, I won't let it happen again," He said with as much air as he still had. He struggled to break free, but Riley disabled him with his mental power and said in his ear.

"You really are lucky you are of any use to me, let this happen again and you will cease to be. And then I will kill you." He flung the vampire from his grip against the brick wall which shattered to pieces, revealing the concrete foundation of the basement. And he pointed towards the rest of the remaining newborns, who watched in anticipation,

"And any else of you who try this will join him! Clean this up now!" he said and then he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him and went to his own private room in the basement which was really a cellar, but it was better than being surrounded by complete savages.

He walked into the humid room and he pressed his back up against the wall and then slid all the way down until he sat. He ran his fingers through his hair, ever since he had escaped from Forks, nothing had been going well. He had no idea where Victoria had gone, leaving him with an army of insufferable vampires without giving any word as to when she was returning.

Riley knew she loved him, she had said so herself, why else would she have trusted him the way she did. She taught him the capabilities and limitations of being a vampire, including the Volturi's threat. She had kept that information away from everyone else. But most of all, he loved her, he'd been jealous at first, when she started to create other vampires, but she let him choose the humans to turn. Still he couldn't figure out why the same words were running through his mind ever since he left Forks.

_"You know it's all a lie Riley. She doesn't love you, she loves James, she needs you to be loyal to her so you can do all she says. As soon as she has used the army you made to its full potential, you are useless to her," The mind reader had said._ _"Mark my words, she will betray you."_

Riley clenched his teeth together and grasped his head with his hands as if physically trying to get the thoughts out of his mind.

He heard a voice which startled him out of his troubled mind,

"Headache? Ya, Raoul can do that to the best of us."

Riley looked up, standing in the doorway was Diego. Riley's most trusted member of the army and his only friend. He had thick curly black hair and a faint olive tone to his vampire skin. He was Riley's height, 6 feet, and was about the same age when he was turned.

Riley had given Diego a new chance at life after nearly being killed by his enemies. After becoming a vampire, Diego showed more responsibility over the army's actions than the other vampires and Riley grew very fond of him. He wasn't impulsive like the others, he was smart and most of all, the only vampire Victoria had turned that didn't make him want to decapitate himself.

"Why must the most destructive ones always be the most gifted vampires?" Riley said.

"Raoul's the strongest, but he's also just a kid, which makes him even more of a shit-bag."

"You got that right," Riley's lip curled into a smile and he stood up.

"If I knew that I'd be going through a full year of college only to be stuck babysitting, I'd have dropped out a lot sooner. How was the killing last night?" Riley asked.

"Newborns weren't that bad, for the most part they picked their prey well, a few cars were smashed but overall they were unseen. The real fun started when they got back here. While I was out, I took the liberty of stealing a certain band album from the mall."

"Let me guess the band, Whitknife, Jaded?"

"No, I was feeling like something older," He said. Diego tossed him the album which Riley caught.

Riley knew the band well, he went to one of their concerts in high school. They shared similar interests in music, it seemed like the only link they both had to their old human lives.

"Ah, good choice, I was thinking you would be listening to that crappy new stuff they're selling now."

"Trust me, you'll be listening to their new albums sooner than you think my friend," said Diego.

There seemed to be a commotion occurring upstairs, the newborns were apparently getting into another row.

Diego said, "We should see what that's all about."

Then Riley's smile faded as he picked up the scent that he couldn't mistake to be Victoria's. She was back in town. Riley had to find a way to be out of earshot of 16 super beings.

"I'll join you soon," Riley said as Diego left the room. Riley shut the door and then heard her voice among the many other human voices; she did not address him by name, just in case the others were listening. Instead she said, from wherever she was outside,

"Meet me as soon as it gets dark."

~o~o~o~

Riley followed Victoria's scent that night, to a rundown looking security office of a warehouse. Victoria had fed on the guard's blood and had left Riley one to drink from, a sign that she wasn't as angry as he thought she was, yet.

He walked into the room and saw her. She had a seductive glow about her. Her brilliant red hair and lips were fierier than usual. Her feline beauty was astonishing.

He had rehearsed what he would say the whole way there, and as he stood in the doorway of the well lit room, he started to say,

"Victoria… I-"

He was instead cut off by her kissing him and her body pressed into his. He responded to the affection by pulling in closer, but she then pulled away and whispered in her smooth soprano voice,

"Have you missed me as much as I have missed you?"

"Of course I have Victoria, but ther-"

She cut him off again, placing a long slender finger over his lips and said, "I have a plan. This will surely get rid of the entire Cullen clan and that horrible mind reading snake once and for all, but it will require a whole lot more than the 23 newborns we have now."

_More like 23 subtract 7, _Riley thought.

"Victoria, that's good news," he said.

"Yes it is. The Cullen's, as experienced and talented as they are, only have so much strength among their coven alone. To withstanding an attack from more than 50 newborns, 100, there is no chance at surviving that."

"Really, that many?" he asked, trying hard to match her enthusiasm.

Riley's stomach dropped when he heard her say 100 newborns, he could barely control 16 newborns how did he expect him to control 100?

"I know it's asking a lot of you Riley, but believe me, when all this is over, you and I will go far, far away and we will live out an eternity together. You and I, I promise if you just do this one favor for me. Help me build an army and kill the Cullens."

Riley wanted nothing more than to have her as his own, as a true mate, not the half-love they had been having. He wanted her to himself, fully.

"I promise Victoria I will not fail you."

She smiled and then kissed him again, stroking his cheek.

"I love you," she said.

"I know, I love you too," Riley replied. Why did those words seem so difficult to say all of a sudden as they escaped his mouth, what was going on with him?

"You have no idea how happy that makes me Riley," she said smiling and then she kissed him again and whispered, "I must go away again for a short while. You must find me more humans to turn; soon we will be together Riley, soon."

With that she was gone.

A/N: Hence the beginning of another plan to get revenge on Edward for the killing of James. In the next chapter we will go back into Cullen world, but don't expect to be seeing the last of Riley and Victoria:) Reviews are wonderful.


	17. Deadly Cravings

_**A/N: I had to edit a few mistakes in the past two chapters. Firstly, I said that Demitri from the Denali called Carlisle, what I meant was that Eleazar from the Denali called Carlisle (I've been reading too many Volturi fan fictions lol). Also, for anyone who noticed that the Riley's chapter said chapter 12, I changed it to chapter 16. So with that, here is the next chapter.**_

**Chapter 17~ Deadly Cravings**

It was a treacherous, mystifying cold night. It was clear that winter was approaching quickly by the way the days shortened and the wind blew the brittle leaves off the trees. The sky was so dark, it was if a moth-eaten blanket had been thrown over the earth, and the stars were little holes that had been eaten away.

To Bella's knowledge, she was somewhere in West Virginia, she did not even know which town, nor did she care for that matter. She had arrived here to this small, quiet and sketchy town, where everyone looked rundown and tired. There was a convenient store, a gas station, a tattoo parlour and a bar. It looked as if the bar was the best option for her right now.

She walked into the dimly lighted room. It was gloomy enough, with a few middle aged men playing cards and a couple lone strays who sat on the stools at the table, drinking their sorrows away.

She could care less when everyone in the bar of mostly men and a couple waitresses turned their heads to gaze at her. Her eyes were getting less red with the more animal blood she took into her system, but she still had to invest in dozens of brown eye contacts for now. She walked directly to the stools, her high heeled boots, courtesy of Alice, could be heard clicking against the wooden floor. It was the only noise in the room.

To the people in the room, she must have looked like she was a girl from out of town, with a pretty face and nice designer clothes, and they were curious. Bella realized they must be thinking she's crazy for being around these parts alone at this hour of the night. Little did they know, her safety wasn't really an issue right now, if she wanted to she could kill everyone in the town, let alone the bar.

She sat over in the far corner of the table, the bartender came over. She looked about late thirties, and she had bleach blonde hair and her makeup was bright and exuberant. Her lips were flaming red and her eye shadow green. Bella read her name tag, her name was Jules. She said to Bella,

"What would you like deary?"

Bella had a lot of answers to that question. Instead she replied, "Nothing thanks."

"So what's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?" Jules asked.

Bella said. "Boyfriend trouble I guess."

"We've all been there."

If only she knew the full story, Bella thought.

It was the story of the awkward, plain girl from Phoenix, who had fallen madly in love with a vampire and him with her. Until one day his brother tried to kill her, and from there the relationship began to crumple. He left her, making her believe that he didn't love her because he thought she'd have a better life without him. Instead her life only got worse, and she was left with nothing, so she attempted suicide, only to fail her mission and end up in a coma instead. When she finally woke up, she was stolen by a crazy vengeful vampire and stabbed in the stomach.

She thought she would die and that the vampire who she once loved, who she saw staring down at her in her last moments of life was an angel sent for her. But she only felt more pain when she was bitten to become a vampire and later found out her mother was killed by Victoria. Then, not remembering her lost love from her human life, she fell in love with him all over again only to be ripped out of her romance by all the memories flooding back into her mind. All the pain she'd suffered, re-inhabiting her conscious thought.

Bella had never stopped loving Edward, but sometimes love was not enough to erase the past.

~o~o~o~

"Tanya?" Edward said with a baffled expression. "What are you doing here?"

"It's nice to see you too Edward," she said with a sarcastic smile, and then she turned toward the Volvo. "So are you going to let me in or not?"

Edward and she went back to room at the motel. They were all there apart from Carlisle, and they greeted their relative Tanya warmly. They gathered around, Tanya spoke,

"My coven split up for a while as we do every so often and I figured I'd pay a surprise visit to my dear friend Carlisle and his coven," she said. "Though it seems I came a tad bit too late, I must have missed out on some action, because when I got to your house, all I saw were the remains of a battle ground and you were not there. Then I got to Seattle and picked up Edward's scent."

"There is more," Edward said. "I know there is, because you've shielded your thoughts this entire time."

"You're always so clever Edward, you have not changed a bit," she replied.

"Tanya, _is _there more?" Esme asked.

Tanya paused and said, "I'm afraid there is, word has quickly spread about a coven, or more like an army of vampires being systematically created in the south. It was never my family's issue until Eleazar, who had been passing through New Orleans, had a very enlightening encounter with a newborn in that army."

"What did he find out?" asked Jasper.

"Someone is planning an attack on your coven," Tanya said.

~o~o~o~o~

Carlisle scrolled down to Eleazar's number and clicked the call button. Eleazar answered.

"Carlisle?"

"Yes, you called me. Is everything alright?" Carlisle asked.

Eleazar was one of Carlisle's closest friends who he had known for centuries, and now, he could sense simply by his voice, something was wrong.

"There is something you must know."

~o~o~o~o~

Bella was still at the bar counter swirling around her drink with a straw. What she would have preferred was blood, human blood. The smell was potent all around her, she was in such close proximity with the humans it was getting harder to control her thoughts. She could hear the blood pumping through their arteries, smell it radiating from under the skin of their necks. It seemed to be getting hotter and hotter. She realized that this must have been what losing control felt like.

It had happened before but Edward had been there to help her through it. He wasn't here anymore, now she had to rely on her own will. But what will, did she have left? She wasn't with the Cullen's anymore, it was their lifestyle she had followed. Not the normal vampire lifestyle. All Bella could hear was blood, nothing else, it sounded as if she were underwater and she heard Jules calling from the surface,

"Are you alright? You look sick."

Bella was pulled out of the spell and she realized she had her head down, her fists were clenching her hair and she looked rapidly around the room, her eyes were wide and frantic.

Bella straightened up and held her breath. She nodded towards Jules, pulling her lips up into a strained smile and got up to walk towards the door.

She heard one of the male bartenders talking to Jules,

"She okay to drive?" asked the man.

"I don't think so," said Jules. "You wait there darlin' I'll call you a cab."

Bella wanted to decline, but to do so would mean breathing. And then she made the mistake of letting out a breath, and the temptation came back to her once again. She remembered once Edward had told her he'd killed hundreds of humans in his lifetime, but only the bad ones. He used his mind reading to hunt the ones who planned robberies, rapes, murders and all other kinds of unspeakable crimes. These people in the bar were not bad people; they didn't deserve death.

What Bella did in those next few minutes was the real unspeakable crime. Their blood was like nothing she had ever tasted before, the sweet succulent taste that her natural instincts drove her towards. Whatever she did, she could not physically stop, and she did not want to. It was her addiction, her craving fulfilled. The intensity of it frightened her, and yet she did not stop until every one of the thirteen people she'd counted in the bar were dead.

Finishing off that last drop of human blood after feeding as a newborn could be one of the lowest points in a vampires existence. The chemical high that had been pushed past the threshold of the brain during the hunt plummeted down to zero afterwards, when they realized what they'd done.

Bella looked around the room; there was blood and bodies everywhere. She looked down at herself; she reached up, with a shaky hand slowly towards her lips. She looked at the fingers which had grazed the side of her mouth; they had blood on them now. She felt as if she were being choked, she gasped for air and struggled to stand as she took in the scene before her. The music from the quiet radio was still playing. She was shell-shocked, she turned her head when she sensed the presence of someone else. It was not a human, it was a vampire.

He had dark blonde hair, was tall and lean, and he looked both surprised, shocked and understanding all at the same time.

"I just picked up the scent and... wait, you don't know who I am do you?" he asked.

Bella did not answer, she had no clue who he was and at this moment, did not care either.

"Why aren't you with the Cullens?" he started to move closer and she grew more and more on edge.

Then he came too close and once again her newborn defences took control, and she sprung at him.

"Wait," he said. Trying to ward off her attacks.

"Who are you!" she demanded him to answer.

"Why can't I restrain you?" he said, his eyes wide.

She swiped for his head, but he grabbed her hand and then he said,

"Stop! I'm trying to help you."

"Leave me alone!" she demanded and then she pulled away, picked up a heavy table and threw it at the wall, it smashed into smithereens. Then she and dropped to the wooden floor.

She dug her head into her knees and was on the verge of breaking into sobs. She felt so shattered, guilt could not describe what she felt. When she lifted her head she saw that he was in front of her, holding out his hand in greeting.

"Maybe we should start over. I'm Riley, it's nice to see you again Bella."

A/N: The next chapter will explain a lot. ;) So what do you guys think so far?


	18. Matters of Survival

**Chapter 18 ~ Matters of Survival****  
**

Bella dug her head into her knees and was on the verge of breaking into sobs. She felt so shattered, guilt could not describe what she felt. When she lifted her head she saw that he was in front of her, holding out his hand in greeting.

"Maybe we should start over. I'm Riley, it's nice to see you again Bella."

**48 Hours Earlier**

It had been a month since Victoria had informed Riley of her plan to attack the Cullen's and the number of newborns had risen to 22 It was clear they were powerful enough to complete their mission, and it was only a matter of time before they did.

Riley walked through the French Quarter of the city one night, a common place for the army to feed. He found some of the newborns in front of a crusty looking alleyway. Among the newborns, was Raoul and Kevin.

"Hey what's up Riles?" said Kevin, as he jumped off a car which he had flipped over.

Kevin was Raoul's second in command in his human gang, and was turned at Raoul's suggestion. The kid was also dumb as a doorknob, but that was how Victoria wanted her newborns, blind and unsuspecting. To Riley's dismay, this came at a cost. Their hyper-aggression was tiring when their army was supposed to remain secret. If the Volturi found out, they would come and inspect, and that could mean their ends. If the Cullen's found out, it would jeopardize their surprise attack.

"What did I say about destroying cars? It's an unnecessary attention grabber," said Riley. "We've been through this before."

"What, we're just having some fun," said Kevin, offering him one of their newly killed preys. "Want some?"

Riley's temper flared up and he knocked the human body aside. Then he grabbed Kevin's arm and yanked it off with an effortless thrust. Kevin screamed in pain, and all the other newborns stopped what they were doing, and looked to Riley as he ripped the arm in half and tossed it at Kevin's face.

"What the hell?" shouted Kevin.

"Now that I've got everyone's attention," said Riley. "Keep in mind you were all created for a purpose. Something is coming, in a short time from now, there will be a battle between us and the enemy, a battle bigger than any of us have seen before. And if you cannot control yourselves, we are all going to die. If you fail to remain loyal to this coven, to remain unseen and inconspicuous, just remember you are easily replaceable. I will not risk our demise, over one of your idiotic indiscretions. Now dispose of all these bodies."

Riley left them there and he followed a scent to the edge of the city. She stood at the bridge, overlooking the pier and the city below the hill.

"Your late," she said as she stared out into the sky, reaching up out of habit, to stroke the black silver necklace around her pale and smooth neck. It was a simple thing when you first looked at it, and yet at a second glance, the diamond stones gave off a multicoloured light and twinkled as she moved. Riley often caught her fingers tracing over it's edges when she drifted away in thought. He'd always wondered what that necklace meant to her, who gave it to her, he'd never seen her without it.

"I know, I was dealing with some newborn problems," he said, moving closer towards her.

Victoria turned to look at him. She was radiant as ever, her feminine, heart shaped face, framed by her stunning fiery curls was definite and glowing. It was as if there was lava flooding in her hot red eyes and moonbeams in her lips, which were left unpainted tonight. She was to him, more of a craving than any human blood he'd ever tasted.

"I thought you might be busy with the newborns, they seem to be getting a bit more out of hand for my liking. I've heard word from the east, the Cullen's are no longer in Forks," she said.

"Have they found out about us?" asked Riley.

"No, they were attacked by another group. All of them survived but the one most important has fled. She got on a trail towards the west and kept running. I don't know when the Cullen's will decide to find her, but I want her alone and without protection for as long as possible," Victoria said.

Riley processed the information, "Does this mean our plans have changed?"

"Riley," Victoria said, her lips curved into a smile. "This changes everything."

She paused.

"I want you to find her. You must bring her back to me when I give the instruction, it is crucial she is alone when you do."

"What about the Cullen's, once they find out Bella is gone they will come looking for her and they will track us down," said Riley.

"I will deal with getting Edward alone, I won't have his family ruining my plans again. I want this revenge to unfold exactly the way I picture it and I want Edward to realize that his love was stolen from him, because of him," Victoria said.

Riley still looked skeptical,

"What about the army?"

"I have my own plans for them. Are they loyal to you?"Victoria asked.

"The newborns have no loyalty towards anyone, the only respect they give is driven by fear," Riley replied.

"Good, then that is what I'll use to control them. For now, do as I tell you. Find Bella," said Victoria. "You are the only one I can trust to do it for me."

"I will do this for you Victoria, if it means you will get your revenge and be happy again," said Riley.

Again her hand flew up to her necklace and then it slid back down to her side and she looked out over the hill again.

"I've been alive for almost half a millennium, I've lost the ability to be happy with the brutal years of killing, betrayal and hiding in the shadows, away from my enemies."

"I could make you happy," Riley said.

Victoria looked up at him and smiled, reaching her hand up to his face and saying,  
"Of course, you already make me happy," she said. "Now you must go back, I have a few things to take care of before I return. Please trust me on this Riley."

~o~o~o~

Riley walked along the empty ocean front, it was going to be morning in a couple of hours. Down near the water he spotted Diego and one of the newer vampires Bree Tanner. Riley noticed that they had been spending a fair amount of time together lately. Perhaps Diego found a liking for her and had taken Bree under his protection from the other vampires. But he also wondered if their relationship was taking form of something more serious than the alliances newborns instinctually formed for safety.

Victoria did not want the newborns having mates. A few already had, and when they tried to elope together, she killed them. Diego knew about their deaths, but Riley began to wonder whether that was enough.

He trusted Diego however. He had placed him in a higher position of authority than all the others, and the others looked up to him. So Riley walked away and left them there. He walked back to the basement of the old building where they stayed during the daytime. It was in an abandoned part of town, which had not yet been rebuilt from the destruction of hurricane Katrina. Riley stayed there and waited as the newborns flocked in before dawn.

But something was wrong, Diego and Bree had not come back.

Riley waited and waited, not saying anything as the newborns betted on whether they were dead, or found a place to hide from the sunlight. Night eventually came again, and he heard Victoria's voice near the building. Diego just walked into the basement. He looked like he was going to tell Riley something.

"Where were you?" asked Riley.

"While I was gone, I discovered a few things. Firstly the sun hitting our skin doesn't burn it, it makes it shine like jewels or something. It's completely harmless. Did you know about this?" said Diego, trusting of his friend Riley, not realizing the danger he just placed himself in by revealing what he knew.

"I also met another vampire, he mentioned something about the Cullen's. That's the coven we're attacking isn't it?" Diego said. Riley just stared back at him, "What's wrong man? I'll keep your secret, I swear," said Diego.

"It's not my secret you will be keeping," Riley said.

Suddenly Victoria appeared in the room and Diego turned to stare at her. He had never seen her before and he had no idea who she was. She looked at Diego with frightening eyes, the type that shone happily when she was about to make a kill.

"Riley," she said. "I think the newborn knows more than he's revealing, after all there must be others who were with him during his discovery."  
Riley remembered he was with Bree last night.

"What? Who are you?" said Diego, who looked from her to Riley.

Victoria said, "Riley now."

"What do you mean?" said Diego.

Riley looked at Diego with a blank expression and he used his mental paralysis mechanism and grabbed Diego as he fell, and he whispered,

"I'm sorry."

~o~o~o~o~

They'd taken Diego to an empty room on the top floor of the abandoned building. The curtains were open letting in the moonlight which shone on them. Diego held back screams as Victoria tortured him to extract information which he was resistant to give. Riley just watched in silence. She seized his neck, threatening to tear it off and Diego said through clenched teeth,

"I told you a thousand times already, I was alone when I found out about the sun not killing vampires and the Cullen coven."

"You're lying, are you protecting someone?" Victoria said, smiling wickedly at him. She turned her head to look at Riley who stood by the window, using his mental force on Diego to keep him from getting away.

"Riley, do you know who it is he is protecting?"

Riley looked at Diego. Diego suspected that Riley knew about Bree, he looked at him with wide black eyes. Victoria looked at him as he hesitated.

"I don't know who he's protecting, he usually keeps to himself. He doesn't spend his nights with the other newborns," Riley lied.

Victoria let go of Diego's neck and took a step towards Riley.

"Are you lying to me, for him?" she said. "You would choose this vampire, over me, over us?"

"No Victoria, I…" Riley looked at Diego. She was going to kill him no matter what, but not until she got every bit of information from him as she possibly could. There was no use in trying to save him now.

"One of the newer vampires, a female one. I saw him with her last night."

"No!" said Diego.

"Bree Tanner, the girl you recently turned," Riley said.

"Oh yes I remember that one, where is she now?" Victoria asked Diego.

"She's gone and you'll never find her," said Diego, glaring at Victoria.

"I highly doubt that, maybe she will be more cooperative than you when I do find her," said Victoria. "Riley, why don't you do the honours of executing him, he knows too much anyway and he refuses to offer up the information I need."

Riley did not move, why was Victoria doing this? She knew they were friends, she knew how much it pained him to watch him suffer when he was truly the only one he cared about in the whole army. He was beginning to see the cruelty that lurked behind her feminine charm and alluring aura.

Riley remembered Victoria's words from last night, about using fear to control the newborns. And then it hit him, he was no different than any of the other vampires in the army, she used manipulation to keep him loyal to her. He did not love her, he feared her. It was the fear from when he first became a vampire that drove him to love her. She was all he'd ever known in this vampire life.

"Riley, end him," Victoria said.

Riley wanted to keep her trust in order to protect himself, and by doing so, that meant meant betraying his only friend. Riley walked to Diego who looked at him with disbelief and shattered hopes in his eyes as he watched Riley, the leader he trusted and would have followed to the end, approaching him.

"So this is how it is? You've been no more than her puppet this entire time? Our friendship ends like this?" said Diego.

"I'm sorry about everything, but I have no choice, goodbye Diego" said Riley.

Diego looked at him with a hint of understanding in his eyes. He whispered with disdain lacing his tongue, "You'd betray me for someone who is using you, I feel sorry for you," he whispered.

The harsh words cut deep into Riley's flesh, but he killed him either way, and Diego's head slipped out of Riley's hands and crashed to the floor. He held back the cry of anguish he so desperately wanted to release and instead he turned to see Victoria looking at him with joy glazed her eyes.

"You've done well Riley," she said.

"He was a liability Victoria, it's good that we got rid of him," said Riley.

Victoria walked towards him and her lips moved closer to his, then he returned the kiss, trying his best to seem convincing.

He removed a strand of hair from her face, and stared straight into her eyes. Slowly their faces moved towards each other. The taste of her sweet minty breath enchanted him. Her soft lips fit perfectly in his, making his heart flutter uncontrollably. He couldn't help but forget the resentment he felt for her at that point. It was only a moment before she pulled away smiling, and he forgot about Diego as they moved towards another one of the rooms, his old friend's body was out of sight, out of mind. He had to show Victoria that he loved her, even if it wasn't the full truth anymore. It was for his own survival. So he let himself, once again fall under her spell.

They crashed against the wall at vampire speed, their bodies interlocking with fire and heat as their lips collided again and again. Her hand moved up to his hair and finally he couldn't take it anymore, they fell to the bed. He was entranced by the smoothness of her skin, the way her moans made him shutter. This wasn't love, actually, Riley wasn't even sure what it meant between them, but he did not care. They continued for hours, never growing tired, never growing bored or losing interest in the other. He didn't want to stop, stopping meant facing the extent of his feelings and actions, facing how low he had sunk beneath any morals he'd held onto as a human.

They'd stopped when they realized it would be morning soon. They lay in the bed and Riley turned his head away from her, his eyes looked out the window and he saw a hint of a sunrise forming in the sky. Victoria got up, and began to redress. She fixed her touseled hair and put back on the diamond neckband she always wore.

"You never told me why you always where that necklace?"said Riley.

Victoria froze and then she said, "It was given to me by someone rather important, he was murdered, because of Bella Swan and Edward. That is why you must go and find Bella, then bring her back to me, so that I can avenge their death. I have full confidence that you will," said Victoria. "Remember this night Riley, remember that we will be together again soon. Don't worry about the army, just stay west and avoid the north, the Cullen's have alliances there," Victoria said.

"I will do whatever it takes to bring the girl back to you, I promise," said Riley.

~o~o~o~o~

Riley made his way through a forest as the dawn broke over the sky. It was the type of light that burned the skin afire with passion he could not see, touch, or breathe. It was the smouldering colour corruption of the eye, the blindness which made him fall for her trap his whole year and a half of being a vampire. The blindness made him care, it was the bloody morsel of her red hair; the thick and dominant aggression of her musical tongue, her sultry voice. It was wrapped up in the curve of her body when the moonlight hit it, just as the horizon changed to call her name. The stars always dimmed around her and everything about her was beauty. When the night faded she was welcomed by the kiss of every living thing that dared to look upon her. And those who dared to lie with her, a cloud blanket fogging perception and cloaking the nakedness she bared with eroticism and euphoria, must be ready to fall from the sky again.

That is what Riley did, he fell over and over. He knew how murderous and sinister she was but when he was with her, it was like he was drawn to her. It was almost magical, the way all of nature bowed to her grace. But as the new day followed, Riley looked elsewhere, in search of a new life. He was beginning to doubt the "future" she planned for them. She could not be trusted. How could he know she wouldn't just kill him once he served no further purpose to her. Diego was right, he was pitiful. He needed to quit being blinded and start thinking of his own life. That meant he would have to have a plan to not get killed. At this point he could either bring Bella back for Victoria, and risk being disposed of when his purpose was served, or he could run and live in fear forever that she would track him down and kill him, something she proved to be excellent at.

He'd watched what happened to those who betrayed her, he wouldn't make that same mistake. So he chose option one, he would find Bella, and bring her back to Victoria. There was no other choice, he had not come this far to throw away everything he'd done to survive, that included taking Diego's life.

Riley ran west, to find the one vampire who held the key to his fate. Bella.

A/N: I hope that cleared up some of the confusion about what Riley is doing with Bella now. I'm working on the next chapter. Review are great:)


	19. A New Companion

**Chapter 19~ A New Companion**

The smoke from the fire formed over the trees in a thick black cloud, the smell of burning human bodies wafted through the air. Riley had burnt the bar to the ground as Bella sat against a tree outside; her expressionless face stared numbly into the haze. She did not know who Riley was, or how he knew her. She'd never seen his face before.

Riley had no idea why his power was not working on this girl. It was jeopardizing everything he'd planned. It was nearly impossible for a single vampire his age, to physically restrain a newborn like her for the entire length of the journey back to Victoria. He realized that if he wanted to get Bella to her alive, he would have to use smarter methods. First he would have to gain her trust and that meant helping her, which he had already done by disposing all the evidence she'd left behind in the bar. Looking at her, he could see she was obviously traumatized from her first human slaughter. The Cullen's had obviously brainwashed her into going against her own nature.

When Riley walked back to her, Bella was on her feet, her posture was defensive as she said, "How do you know me?"

Riley had to make himself seem non-threatening, he approached her slowly, "I don't know you, I know _of_ you."

"Same thing," she said.

"Not really," replied Riley smugly.

Bella straightened up and glared at him, "As you can probably tell, I'm not really in the mood for sarcasm."

"Well your welcome for destroying all the evidence from your little massacre here. The Cullen's probably never taught you how to do that. But if your fine on your own, I'll just get going now," Riley said, heading off in the other direction.

Just as Riley predicted, he heard Bella, after about 5 seconds after.

"Wait," she said.

Riley turned his head.

"Fine, I'll say that I'm glad you helped me out, if you tell me how you know about me and the Cullen's," she said.

"Do you know who Victoria is?" asked Riley.

"I wish I didn't," said Bella. "Why?"

"Because she was my creator, I was apart of the army she was building, to get revenge on the Cullen's for something," said Riley.

"What do you mean by, she 'was' building an army?" asked Bella.

"She was killed, executed actually, by the Volturi," Riley replied. "I got away and now I'm free. I was passing through town when I picked up the scent of blood, and came over to inspect."

"What! Victoria is dead? How?" said Bella.

"The newborns were drawing too much attention to themselves, and the Volturi had to step in," said Riley.

"I can't believe this," Bella said. "How can she be dead, just like that?"

"Well, you should probably be happy," said Riley. "I know I am. None of the newborns really knew what was going on, she was holding us prisoner as her bait to get to your coven."

"How many were there?" asked Bella.

"Some were killed and had to be replaced, but in total there were usually about 20 newborns around," said Riley.

"So if you don't mind me asking," said Riley. "Just out of curiosity, how can you return to the Cullen's now? I mean you did just feed on about a dozen people. Aren't they usually against that?"

"I don't know how I'll ever be able to face them again," Bella said, shaking her head in grief.

"Hey there's no reason to get upset, every vampire has these moments," said Riley. "I've killed hundreds of humans, it's apart of being what we are."

"What do you mean there's no reason to get upset? I just killed those people in there, there is nothing okay about that," Bella snapped back.

"Once you develop self control, it gets easier over time," Riley said.

"What, murdering people?" she asked.

"It's in our nature," said Riley.

"I don't care, I have to disappear from here, it's either that, or I face my family," said Bella, she was about to turn and leave.

"Or you can come with me," Riley suggested.

Bella eyed him suspiciously and replied, "No offence, but you were apart of an army created to kill me and my entire coven, in what universe would it be smart to trust you?"

"Firstly, I never shared any mutual feelings with Victoria about your coven, I cared nothing of getting revenge for her. Secondly, technically since the Cullen's are not really your coven anymore; you are a nomadic vampire, and above all a newborn with zero experience, wandering around. There are too many territorial vampires about in these parts; I will be surprised if you live to see next spring the way you are living now. I'm shocked that Edward, your mate hasn't come looking for you yet," Riley said. "Did you break up or something?"

"It's really none of your business," Bella said defensively.

"Well I'm heading south," Riley said, walking away.

"Where south? That's where I was heading," she said, finding herself being carried towards his direction.

"Doesn't matter, as long as I'm as far away from these parts as possible. There are too many memories here, too many of these damn trees. They remind me of Forks," he said.

"You're from Forks?" she asked.

"Ya, crummy little town, but perfect for vampires, its no wonder the Cullen's moved there" Riley replied.

"I'm from Phoenix, I moved to Forks to live with my dad."

"Chief Swan, ya I know him."

"You mean you know _of _him?" corrected Bella.

Riley laughed, "Fine, have it your way, so have you decided if you trust me or not?"

"No," Bella replied. "But I'm also not a fragile human anymore either, I can take care of myself. And seeing as I also want to get as far away from here as possible, it seems you might be of some use. Wandering alone is not how I pictured it to be."

They ran as far as the forest took them until they came upon civilization and they had to use more human means of transportation. They went on the train headed closer to the east, but south nonetheless.

The top floor of the train was empty. Apart from a few lonely souls, they were the only ones there. They sat in the seats beside each other. They spoke for a while; they talked about their human lives. Riley had been a college student when Victoria turned his life into this mess. Bella had only been in high school when she was introduced to this strange world of super naturals. As they shared their stories, Riley thought more and more about how hard it would be to lure her to Victoria, how could he live with himself. It seemed cowardly now that he thought about it. Diego thought him weak, a puppet. But only now, was Riley starting to think that he was right.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked, and Riley realized that he had been staring blankly ahead of him, into oblivion for nearly an hour.

"Nothing, it's just…" Riley thought long and hard. "All this time, ever since I became a vampire, I've been under Victoria's control, well now I'm free. It's just a lot to take in, in one day. I hadn't realized how much she was holding me back from."

"Well you're free now, and you've got forever to get used to it," replied Bella.

Through the window, they could see that it was dark and cloudy outside. They passed over a lake; the water beneath them was calm and pitch black; it was overlooked by a crescent moon, and a few stars that shone through the mist. It was the picture perfect sight. Riley gazed at Bella discreetly as she looked out of the window beside her, her chestnut hair was in soft curls that hung over her shoulders and flowed down her back. Her definitive complexion was ivory and smooth, matching that of the moonlight. She was so much more kind and innocent looking than Victoria had portrayed her. She was like the type of girl he'd pictured himself with when he was still human, the perfect one.

Bella turned her face from the window, and back at him to find him staring at her, she looked away.

"What?" she asked, shyly smiling inwardly.

"It's just, I've always viewed you as this sinister, evil character from Victoria's story. But now that I see you, you're not evil at all. It's just strange. I'm beginning to think she's jealous of you."

"I doubt that," Bella said. "She was just mad because her mate got killed while hunting me."

Riley said, "Exactly, she was wondering what compelled him to fight for you like that, for a powerful coven like the Cullen's to drop everything and save you, a mere human at the time. Not everyone has that kind of loyalty."

They didn't speak for a while, they were both lost within their own worries and thoughts. Finally, Riley spoke aloud.

"I did some terrible things when I was in that army," Riley said. "I betrayed my only friend."

"If it helps I just killed a whole bar full of people," replied Bella.

"But at least you can feel remorse for what happened, it was an accident, it was never your intention. I made a choice and I can barely feel anything regarding that choice, that's the part which scares me," said Riley.

"None of this was your fault, it was hers. She caused everything bad that's happened to you. She's shattered my life too, she killed my mother, she caused me to become a vampire in the first place when she tried to kill me; but she's gone now and you can start living again," she said.

How Riley wished that her words could be the truth, he felt so fake, so malicious, lying to her the way he was. But looking at the unsuspicious, un-judging nature of her eyes, he was all right for now with her believing Victoria to be dead.

"Your right, I do need to start living again" he replied softly, his face moving closer to hers. She was mesmerized and trapped within his deep stare.

They moved closer and closer towards each other, and their lips almost met with every second that passed. And then finally, they did. To Bella, it felt so wrong, but at the same time she welcomed it. His had not moved up to her jawbone, she grabbed hold of his jacket, pulling them closer together. Riley took in her floral scent, his lips running along the soft skin of her neck.

It felt to riley as if the stars had collapsed into black holes when she pulled away.

"We can't do this," Bella said, getting up while saying, "I'm getting off at the next stop."

Riley was filled with panic, he was losing her, "Wait," he called as he got up and followed her down the stairs of the train.

"Just leave me alone," Bella said.

"I'll get off with you-"

"No," said Bella, cutting Riley off in midsentence. "I shouldn't be with you, not like this. You're free remember, you can do whatever you want? Now forget about me and move on with someone else."

"I am doing what I want, and that is getting off with you. And you are free too," Riley said, standing near Bella as she stood near the door.

"I have a mate," Bella responded.

"Then what was that just now? What did that mean?" Riley asked.

"These new, heightened vampire senses are driving me haywire, that was simply a side effect, said Bella.

The train stopped in the dark, cold and quiet station, the doors opened and Bella moved towards them.

"It wasn't like that for me," Riley said, grasping her arm in his hand before she could step off the train.

At this point he wasn't sure if he was fighting to stay with her for Victoria, or for his own need to be with her and protect her.

Suddenly Bella heard a vibrating in her pocket, her cellphone. She glanced at the screen; it was a call from Edward.

~o~o~o~o~

Edward looked out at the crescent moon, half hidden behind the dark clouds from the wraparound porch of the Denali home in Alaska. His family had come here during the daytime. Eleazar, Carmen and all of Tanya's sisters had returned, welcoming the Cullen's with familial arms. They were all inside, Edward had managed to slip away, he was troubled, but that wasn't anything new.

He listened to the sound of Bella's voicemail and then he said,

"Bella, it's me. I said I would give you space but this is urgent. My family found out that Victoria is creating an army against us; it's not safe for you out there. My family is in Denali, Alaska with an allied coven. Please call me when you get this."

Tanya came outside, closing the door behind her and he heard her come closer to him until she stood beside him against the railing.

"I just can't help but feel like something is wrong, and I want her to be safe, but she won't answer my calls, and tracking her would take weeks, she could be anywhere," Edward said.

"Victoria and her army could be anywhere, we don't know if she even knows that Bella is not with us," said Tanya.

"Dammit, I should have never let Victoria and that pest of a vampire, Riley get away," Edward said.

Suddenly, Edward saw images of the future flash through his mind. Alice was having a vision. He dashed inside to the living room, where everyone gathered around her. He saw Bella in the vision, she was on a train, but she wasn't alone.

He froze and processed what he'd just seen, trying to sort through the fury racing through him.

"Alice, what is it?" asked Jasper, who sat beside his mate on the couch.

Alice came out of the vision and she looked to Edward and then to the rest of her family and said,

"It's Bella, she seems to be somewhere in Wyoming at the moment, but I keep seeing a future of what looks to be New Orleans in the vision, it's unclear."

"That's where I found the newborns from Victoria's army," said Eleazar.

Everyone went silent. Edward was still frozen in place; it looked as though he had gone into a deep process of thinking.

"She abandoned her nomadic life and is travelling with someone," said Alice.

"Who? And why would they go to New Orleans of all places?" said Carlisle.

"It seems too coincidental," Jasper said.

"It is," said Alice. "Riley is with her."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed, please review;)


	20. Collision

**Chapter 20~ Collision**

Bella pulled her arm roughly out of Riley's grasp, and then she stepped through the doors, into the station. To her annoyance, he had gotten off right after her and as she strode through the dimly lit, empty tunnel, he followed. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks in the middle of the walkway which reached towards the ticket booth, and she sat down on the bench.

"If you don't mind, I have to check the call I missed because of you," she said snidely. Her voice echoed off the stone walls as she spoke.

"Don't mind at all," replied Riley innocently.

Bella scowled and then she took out her phone and went straight to her voicemail. She listened to Edward's voice through the receiver. How strange it felt to hear his voice now that she had her memories back. In the months he'd left her, she'd forgotten the way his alluring, smooth voice flowed on every word like a river.

"Bella, it's me. I said I would give you space but this is urgent. My family found out that Victoria is creating an army against us; it's not safe for you out there. My family is in Denali, Alaska with an allied coven. Please call me when you get this."

She froze and looked up at Riley, who now looked at her with a hint of panic in his eyes. She stood up,

"Bella," Riley said, trying to calm her. "I have to explain before you jump to conclusions."

"Victoria is alive, isn't she? You lied to me, you are still on her side, and you were trying to get me to her this whole time? And that kiss… oh my God, I can't believe that was all a lie," Bella moved away from him, but he tried to grab her arm and she retaliated by taking it and throwing him across the tunnel, twisting his limb in an unnatural direction at the same time. He let out a yelp of pain, seeing his arm lying beneath him. He sat up and started to put it back in the correct position. Bella had already run out at this point, trying to keep her speed matching that of a human. She saw on the boarding platform that a train was coming, and she headed towards the doors, which were sliding open.

Riley, who had fixed his arm, spotted Bella and yelled for her to wait. Bella felt him pulling her away before she could board the train to get away from him.

"I need to explain Bella," he whispered.

Bella shoved him off, "let go of me!" she yelled and the security guard had rushed over after seeing the incident.

"Is there a problem here?" the tall rugged man asked.

"Yes, this man is harassing me," she said.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to take a step away from her," the officer said.

"No, she's not getting on," Riley said.  
"Hey man let her go," called a guy who had been another bystander watching the incident.

"Why don't you mind your own business!" Riley snapped back.

The large muscular human walked up to him threateningly.

"What'd you say dude?" the guy said, challenging him.

Effortlessly, Riley pushed the guy a full five meters away and he crashed into the side of the unmoving train, hard. It wasn't long before others seeing what happened, joined in and tried to restrain him themselves, until a full on riot started on the platform. Throughout the fight, Bella managed to slip by and Riley, seeing this, pushed through the people that blocked his path. The train she was boarding had already left, so Bella started to run in the direction of the building.

Before Riley could find and catch up with her, she exited through the doors, out of the station, and got into one of the taxis that waited, lined up against the curb in front of the building.

"Where are you going?" the bald headed driver asked.

Bella didn't even have a clue where she even was, let alone where she was going. She saw from the corner of her eye, Riley was inside, staring at her through the window of the station. He was so persistent, she imagined him as a bug she couldn't squash.

Facing her family was the last thing she wanted right now, but it was the smartest thing. It would make up for her last dumb move of deciding to have a make out session with a vampire working for the one person who wants her and her entire family dead.

"The nearest airport," she replied.

~o~o~o~

The Cullen's and the Denali's were at a loss for words. Bella was with Riley, someone whose intentions they knew for a fact, could be deadly.

Carlisle, Eleazar and Tanya spoke privately in the upstairs library, although everyone could hear them.  
"Carlisle," Eleazar said. "Victoria had an army of about 20 vampires when I last checked. How are we to know how many she'll have when she finally attacks? Our families combined can only hold off so many newborns."  
"Your right, we are going into this blindly," said Carlisle. "Perhaps the wolves could help us defeat them…"

"Wolves?" said Tanya. "They care nothing of helping vampires, what makes you think they would willingly help your family Carlisle?"

"They owe me a favor," he said. "And besides, if my family is in Forks, the army is sure to come there, and it's their duty to defend their land from the threat of vampires."

"I'm beginning to think returning to Washington may be best. We know the area well, and with the wolves we will have an edge that not even Victoria can prepare for," said Carlisle.

"Then the Denali's will join you," Tanya replied.

Suddenly, Irina appeared in the doorway of the room. Her hair was pale blonde, almost silver. Her eyes had a gleam in them that only her sister, Tanya could recognize, she was angry, "Our coven knows too well how eager the wolves are to kill vampires. They can't be trusted."  
"What do you mean?" he asked.

"My mate, Laurent was killed by the wolves. Do what you wish, join their pack of mongrels, but I won't be helping you while fighting alongside those filthy creatures," Irina said, before eyeing Tanya, and then striding down the hall.

"Irina wait," Tanya called, following her.

Irina stopped and soon Kate and Carmen were there too, trying to convince her to stay.

"I'm leaving until this is over and done with," she said.

"This is a favor to Carlisle, not the wolves," said Kate.

"I don't want you to think we are betraying you by helping the Cullen's," said Tanya.

"How do you expect me to act as if my sisters aren't forming alliances with the very creatures that killed Laurent, when you are?" Irina said. "I'm sorry, I don't want this to come between you and the Cullen's, but I feel as if in order to let you do this, I must stay out of the way."

"Irina, we understand that you are still grieving his death, but we don't want this to come between you and us," said Carmen.

"It's alright, really, do what you think is best. I think I'll hunt, maybe it will clear my mind," said Irina.

Tanya nodded and Irina left the house, leaving her sisters feeling terribly guilty.

Shortly after Irina left, Edward stormed through the front doors and down the steps of the porch, to his car. It was dark outside.

"Where are you going Edward?" Tanya asked, seeing him from where she stood on the staircase.

"I'm going to find Bella, kill Riley, and then I'm going after Victoria," he replied.

His siblings had been sitting in the living room, but quickly got up and followed after him outside.

"Edward, don't be stupid," Rose said. "You're not going to be able to kill Victoria when she's got an army of vampires protecting her."

They all went down the pathway to the road where Edward's car was parked, since there was not enough room on the driveway for all the cars.

"And how could you possibly kill Riley? You know his gift is too powerful," said Emmett.

"What if this was all a part of Victoria's plan to lure you to Bella so she can have you both where she wants?" said Alice.  
"So what am I supposed to do? Stay here and wait for her to be killed?" Edward shot back.

Carlisle and Eleazar had come out after hearing the commotion,

"Alice is right, if we want to win this battle against Victoria, we have to use smarter tactics," Carlisle said.

Edward's phone suddenly vibrated. He answered immediately.

"Bella?" he said. "Where are you, are you still with him?"

"I'm not with Riley anymore, I found out that he was one of Victoria's vampire's all along, he was lying to me this whole time. I'm at an airport in Wyoming, are you still in Alaska?"

"My family is going back to Forks, we are going to try and get the wolves to fight with us. For now, just get on a plane to the Seattle Airport. I will meet you there and explain everything, I promise," he said.

"I will," she said.

They hung up, and Edward's head snapped up as he looked into the distance, hearing something.

"What is it Edward?" asked Carlisle.

Edward's eyes widened and he looked at Tanya.

"It's Irina," he said under his breath.

"What happened?" Tanya questioned urgently.

Then they all heard it, and smelled the scents. A large group of vampires were approaching closer to them. They were running.

Kate suddenly realized what was going on and got a fearful look in her eyes.

"Where is Irina? We have to help her" she said.

Then she started to run towards the sounds and approaching vampires, determined to help her sister, but Edward flashed towards her and caught her before she could, holding her back.

"No," he warned. "They are members of Victoria's army. There are too many newborns to get through."

She instinctually broke free by using her powers, which sent electric shockwaves through Edward's body, and he crumbled to the floor, letting her go.

"Kate no!" said Tanya.

Tanya ran to her and blocked her path, grabbing her arms. Kate tried to stop her automatic impulse to use her gift on her.

"I'm not risking the loss of two of my sisters," Tanya exclaimed with pain marking her features.  
Kate looked at Tanya and then calmed herself. Everyone realized at that point that there was a small army of newborns coming their way to try and kill them.

"We are under attack," said Eleazar.

"Then we will fight," Tanya said, she was furious now.

Everyone stood their ground outside the house and waited a few short seconds as the newborn vampires reached them. Edward was on the snow covered front lawn waiting, when suddenly he picked up the army's thoughts more clearly.

Their mission had been assigned from a vampire he did not know named Kyle. Edward immediately assumed that this powerful vampire was under Victoria's orders so that the newborns could not be traced back to Victoria.

They must have stolen an article of clothing from the Cullen house in forks. It was one of his shirts, with his scent. The newborns had been given orders not to kill him.

That was Victoria's plan; she wanted Edward alive and his family out of the way. She knew that these newborns would be killed, but the point was to shrink the size of his coven significantly, before she did a full-scale attack, and to test the strength of them.

They were suddenly there and time slowed down. Edward saw his family lunging for the newborns and he fought. He killed each newborn with precision and little effort using his mind reading to pre determine their attacks and use them to his advantage. They were unskilled, and they didn't think their movements through before they proceeded with them, making them sloppy.

However, their strength was unquestionably the biggest threat to him. Once a newborn got their arms around one of them, there was little chance of getting free and a very high chance of being killed.

There were about 14 vampires in total, Edward's family and the Denali's were outnumbered, but they still succeeded in holding off the newborns with ease. Finally, there were no more newborns left alive and Edward watched as his brothers gathered up the bodies into a pile to be burned.

Far away, Edward heard the thoughts of an on looking vampire. The vampire was a spy, who was now getting away. None of the others heard the vampire, she was too far off, but Edward could pick up the vampire's thoughts.

He practically flew towards the newborn; all the way through the frozen forest, he chased her. Unlike the other newborns, she knew exactly who Victoria was and the mission to kill the Cullen's; Edward needed to find out more from her.

She realized that she was being chased the minute Edward caught up to her, so she decided to fight back. She grabbed him, trying to throw him down but he dodged the attack, and she tipped off balance. He lunged for her and twisted her arm up her back; she let out a hiss of agony. Then Edward kicked the back of her knee and she collapsed to a kneel, but grabbed his arm and pulled him down with newborn strength. He still landed on his feet, teetered and recovered. Then she was up again, and swinging punches. He danced out of the way, knocking her to the floor.

"I don't want to hurt you, I only need you to cooperate," he said finally.

The girl just looked up at him with frightened eyes. Now that he saw her clearly, she was young; she looked no more than 16. She sat up; he got down to her level,

"What's your name?" he asked, immediately knowing the answer from her thoughts.  
"Bree," the girl replied softly.

"You're with Victoria aren't you?"

Edward took from her thoughts that Victoria, having captured her when she was trying to run from the army, told her that if she became a messenger and spied on the Cullen's and Denali's in Alaska, she would be set free. Bree was good at hiding; it was her defense mechanism when she had been living with all those aggressive newborns. And she had managed to go unseen for three days of watching them while in Alaska, even unheard by Edward.

Bree did not respond, she expected that he would kill her but he only said,

"You are a spy for Victoria. So you are loyal to her then?"

Bree hated Victoria; Edward heard it loud and clear in her thoughts. She'd ordered Riley to kill her mate Diego, and she was only working for her out of fear for her own life, and hope for the promise of freedom.

Bree still did not answer. In the distance, Edward heard the cries of Tanya and Kate, and the bitter tears of Carmen as they stared into at the flames, which had burned their sister's corpse.

The newborns had outnumbered Irina, and she was killed. But she'd fought back, managing to dismember a few of the vampires, whose bodies lay scattered about on the ground. A saddened Eleazar took the chance to kill them once and for all by burning their bodies to ash.

Edward flinched at all the painful thoughts of his extended family, which overtook his mind. He turned back to Bree,

"You don't have to go back to Victoria," he said. "Why don't you run?"

"I had already escaped with my mate, Diego, and another vampire named Fred, before I became her spy. My mate trusted Riley too much, and returned to him to inform him of his discoveries about your coven, and about the sun not burning our skin like Riley had told us. I tried to convince Diego to forget about him and leave with us, but he went back. So I went with him and waited, but he never returned.

Riley betrayed him, and killed him, but not before he and Victoria tortured him into giving them information about the others involved. My name was mentioned and Victoria found out that I knew too much, captured me and instead of killing me, she thought I could be of some use to her. I haven't sent her the plans of your coven yet.

She doesn't know how easy it was for you to defeat those newborns, and she doesn't know about Bella heading on a plane to Seattle. Or that you have plans to fight with the werewolves there.

I know that Victoria has expanded her army to 30 vampires, not including these few sacrifices today. Kyle is an extremely powerful vampire who's in charge of all the newborns, even more so than Riley. Kyle tells us Riley is a traitor. Victoria thinks so too. Riley was supposed to bring back Bella, he hasn't. He let her escape," Bree said.

Edward thought for a moment about all the new information. He weighed out all his options.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked. She didn't look scared, she was accepting of her fate.

Edward paused for a second, "I don't know… if it would be wise to let you go. You know too much. That could jeopardize my family's survival."

"I had made arrangements to escape after I sent Victoria the information. Fred and I are leaving here, he's already in Canada, but once I sneak over the border to meet him we are leaving the continent. We'll disappear and never look back. But the information I give Victoria does not have to be completely accurate," she said.

Edward scanned through her mind to check for any signs of a lie, he found none. She would actually give Victoria false information in exchange for her life. Edward replied,

"You must tell her that our covens split up; that we are taking Bella far away from here, not to Forks. We are never returning to Washington. Eventually she will find out you were lying, but make sure you are gone by then. Don't worry after that, Victoria will be dead before spring."

"I will, I swear. She is the reason my mate is dead, helping her is the last thing I want," Bree said.

Edward stood up and so did the girl.

"We never had this conversation," Edward said. "It will be our secret."

Bree nodded and said, "Got it."

_Thank you Edward_, he heard in her thoughts.

"Good luck," he said.

Then the girl ran off through the forest, far away from where he was.

Edward realized then, that a job had to be done. He would never rest until Victoria was dead along with all those in allegiance with her. It was time for him to leave Alaska.

~o~o~o~

The atmosphere was filled with the grief of Tanya and her sisters. Irina had been killed by the newborns and they were all distraught. Everyone was silent inside the house, knowing what had happened. Carlisle and Esme sat on the couch while Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Alice were silently sitting in various places of the living room. Eleazar was trying to comfort Carmen upstairs, and Tanya and Kate were still at the place where Irina had died. They had not yet returned.  
Suddenly Tanya and Kate walked into the house. Carlisle stood up and walked with them to the kitchen to speak somewhat privately. Tanya, who had mostly kept her composure throughout this whole ordeal, said to him,

"I'm sorry Carlisle, but my sister is dead, and I cannot find the heart to fight alongside the wolves, knowing that when she was alive she was against it. I have to respect her wishes. If the others would like to join you, fine," said Tanya, and then she left. She passed Eleazar and Carmen who were on their way down the stairs.

Kate looked at the Cullens, and then Carlisle and said, "I'm sorry Carlisle, I can't fight this battle with your family either."

"That is alright Kate, I understand," Carlisle replied.

Eleazar walked to Carlisle.

"This is difficult for me old friend," he said.

"I would not ask you to turn your back on your family, on Carmen," Carlisle said.

"I know, but you still have to win this fight against Victoria," said Eleazar. "I will try and help from afar, I will notify the Volturi about this newborn army. I am certain they will see Victoria's army as a menace to keeping our secret."

Then the two parted and Carlisle returned to where his family sat in the next room.

"Edward has left for Washington and so will we. We will leave for Forks immediately," he said.

~o~o~o~

Edward let his car practically fly down the sleek dark highway as he raced towards a future he hoped for, but feared all the same. He had let Bree go only because killing her would have been giving into his own fear, and letting Victoria win.

Sometimes it seemed like his past with Bella had been nothing more than a dream, it seemed so out of reach now. He told himself that the memory was worth the great amount of effort put in, and it would be worth it in the end. When things got hard, he just wanted to let go, but it seemed the more pain and suffering he put into something, the better it would feel when he reached that place.

As Bella walked to get on her flight, it seemed, momentarily like the ground had swept out beneath her. When she got off that plane, she had little doubt it would be Edward waiting for her. Fear had paralyzed her legs; the fear of losing Edward's love, losing her family's respect. She had done so much she had regret; she'd killed so many humans, betraying their lifestyle. She'd let Riley get the best of her in a way she knew would hurt the only one she'd ever truly loved. But somehow she wanted to keep going.

Both of them wanted things back they way it used to be. They had both changed over the past few months. But despite this endless darkness, something inside of them wanted to tread forward, onward into the light.

~o~o~o~

Riley walked down the dark empty street and turned the corner to a quiet walkway that night. He knew that Bella had gone to the airport. He had followed her there, he knew she was heading to Forks, but something inside of him had let her escape.

Once Victoria found out, he was sure she'd come after him. That was why as soon as morning broke in an hour, he was vanishing from the country. And he wouldn't come back for a very long time. He would start a new life and maybe redeem his past sins.

Suddenly he picked up a scent that would shatter that dream. Victoria was there, but she was not alone.

They approached him, and Riley knew that there was no use running, he had to face them.

Riley figured he had to kill them both, so immediately he used his restraining ability on the vampire with her, and prepared for Victoria's attack. But something happened that not even he was prepared for. The vampire with her was pushed down by the force of Riley's powers, but the vampire looked up at him with menacing red eyes, and with only a slight struggle, he reached up his hand to Riley. The suddenly, something completely abnormal happened, Riley began to feel as if there was a cloud of black smoke squeezing in on him, shutting out any light until he couldn't see anything at all, only hear and smell.

He was beginning to think that this vampire was counterattacking him with some sort of mental ability.

Riley still attempted to defend himself with little use. He used his other senses to locate them, but he felt the male vampire kick him to the floor; the force was so much that it shattered the pavement beneath him. Then he picked Riley up by his shirt collar.

Just then he appeared in the blackness surrounding them. It was only he who appeared, nothing and no one else. It was as if they were in some other dimension together. Just then Riley started to wonder if he could even trust that what he was seeing was real. Nonetheless Riley got a clear view of him. He had blonde hair, lighter than Riley's. He was young, but he was still a man, maybe about 25. In his bright red eyes lay a deep-seated rage at the core. But the part that made Riley shutter was the uncaring, unsympathetic look in this vampire's eyes that made him realize that he was possibly looking into the person he once was. Apathetic, caring about nothing and no one but Victoria. He had fallen for her trap, just as Riley had.

"I don't believe we've met before. I'm Kyle," he said with a dark voice and a threatening smile on his face.

Then Kyle disappeared and once again, Riley was left in the dark. Riley felt himself being dragged to the back of a vehicle. He was driven to the middle of nowhere. All he saw as he was led through the grass was a small wooden house, almost a shack, out there in the dark.

"Now you will learn the meaning of revenge my love," said Victoria. "You knew better than to betray me, but you did anyways, and now you're going to die.

Kyle opened the door. Riley got out and tried to run, but the blackness was still all around him, it seemed as if Kyle had him in a millisecond. He felt sharp teeth digging into his arm, ripping it off, and then the same thing on the other side. Riley screamed and thrashed about violently as he was dragged to house and thrown inside.

Then Kyle went back to the car for something and just as he left, the smoke went away, and Riley could see clearly. He lay, panting in pain on the ground. Victoria sank down to him and looked at him with most beautiful red eyes. All he saw in them now was ugliness. She stroked his face tauntingly,

"You really think you proved anything by letting the girl get away? She's not coming to save you and after you die, she'll be dead too. Pity."

Riley was so filled with emotions he laughed, "All you're good at is ripping people's lives apart and hiding. You're the one who should be pitied."

Victoria smiled evilly and watched as Kyle poured gasoline all around the room and handed Victoria a lighter.

"It's a shame things had to end this way Riley, we could have had so much."

Then she lit the lighter and tossed it across the room, which set alight and quickly spread. Before it could reach the door, Victoria and Kyle were gone. And Riley, weak and wounded, was left to wade in his own impending doom.

A/N: So that is chapter 20 hope you liked it. By the way, basically Kyle's power is the ability to create illusions. He's able to place himself inside a person's head or just in the surroundings and control what his victim sees. Anyways, please review. :)


	21. Home for the Holidays

**Chapter 21~ Home for the Holidays**

Bella walked out of the long bustling terminal. She felt the excitement of the people waiting to be flown far away for Christmas holidays. She couldn't share their excitement. Her throat was burning of thirst, and being surrounded by hundreds of humans didn't help. Ever since she had tasted human blood, she'd found it increasingly difficult to withstand the temptation.

She stood off to the side of the tall massive glass window that early morning, leaning against the golden railing. She knew he would find her there.

Then, just as she predicted, she sensed his presence. She smelled his scent, one she could never forget. It was Edward who emerged from the crowd by the luggage pick up area, and came into plain view before her. They stared at each other from afar for a moment. His godlike demeanor dazzled her, the way the morning light just slightly reflected off his smooth, pale skin. The dark purple circles under his eyes were not as evident, indicating that he had recently hunted. His eyes were a golden topaz and his hair was the same strange shade of bronze, in it's always casual disarray. He stood tall and slender, and he was a bit more boyish in his looks than his other brothers, as he was only 17 when he was turned, but she saw the hint of his toned, strong muscles.

At that moment of clarity, Bella remembered what she had seen in him when she was human. She had not understood her feelings after she had just been turned and had lost her memories. But now she saw clearly, she remembered everything they had shared when she was still human, the night when he stayed by her side while she slept, waking up next to him, skipping classes to just be together. She remembered that she loved him.

He approached her; he looked just as dazzled by her as she was by him. He smiled that smile that she loved, slightly crooked, but perfect all the same. He looked at her as if she was the only person in the room, with his beautiful golden eyes, which could liquefy steel.

"Bella," he said as he came near her where she stood.

She didn't know what happened next, but she suddenly found herself in his arms. They were hugging, and all the fear and guilt, and the thirst went away. He made those things disappear.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as her head pressed into his shoulder.

He pulled away to gaze at her face lovingly.

"I thought that was my line," he said.

There must have been one thousand emotions that ran through Bella's eyes.

"Bella what's wrong?" he asked, the joy of the moment fading from his gaze.

Instead of telling him, she just shook her head and said,

"It's nothing."

~o~o~o~

Carlisle flew along the black asphalt, winding through forests and hills. He pressed the accelerator harder through a long straight corridor of pines. The forest was a presence hovering over the isolated road, the huge ancient trees graciously allowed his passage.

Jasper was with him; they thought it would be best, since his most recent son knew the most out of any of them, the threat they faced. He had been like Riley at one point; he was responsible for training and controlling newborns under a vampire named Maria's orders. He also controlled the emotions of others, and could make Sam and the council more understanding.

Prior to coming to La Push, Alice had a terrible vision. In it showed a tall, blonde vampire and Edward. The vampire was going to kill him. The vision stopped before he could, but the possibility made his family even more determined not to let that happen. The biggest question was, how was that vampire powerful enough be able to kill a vampire as skilled a fighter as Edward? Was it only newborns Victoria was sending?

"Do you think that once Eleazar tells the Volturi what Victoria is doing, they will destroy the army?" asked Jasper.

"Even though Victoria is breaking the law, I don't think they will take action so quickly, after all Aro's secretly wanted me dead for centuries," said Carlisle.

"I thought you were friends once," Jasper said.

"We were, at one point. When I was living with the Volturi, we spend countless hours discussing and debating just about every topic that came to mind. He might not show it, but he's always seen my level of control as something to be admired, and as a threat. I can recall a few times when he had a few bodies of humans, with fresh blood draining from their necks, placed outside the door of my room. He went to all that trouble just to get me to break my lifestyle and feed from human blood. And then when he granted me permission to leave and I went and created an entire coven of 'vegetarian' vampires that were both gifted and loyal to the coven, it drove his discomfort to it's threshold."

"So I wouldn't be surprised if the Volturi give Victoria some sort of time limit to complete her kill. I think Aro is wondering what the results will be, just to see how powerful our family really is," Carlisle said.

"Let's just hope that vision Alice had will change after we speak with the council members and the wolves," Carlisle continued.

"I think Edward knows more than he's letting on. After that battle in Denali, the way he ran into the forest as soon as the fight was over, it was like he heard someone's thoughts, like he was running to someone," said Jasper.

Carlisle replied, "I noticed too. I think Edward's gift always keeps him one step ahead, and he's secretive as usual. Hopefully he'll tell us whatever it is he's hiding before we find out the hard way."

By the saline scent and heavier pressure of air, Carlisle knew he had finally reached the ocean. He slowed as the forest cleared to open on both sides of the highway. A few scattered structures appeared. They were in La Push.

Carlisle inhaled deeply. There it was, that peculiar wolf scent. It came from every direction. It dominated every other scent, the pines, the sea, the stink of warm asphalt, and as they approached the town, that ambrosial scent of the blood of the living. The road wrapped around the east end of the village. Carlisle saw parked vehicles here and there by the houses, but there were no other vehicles running on the streets.

By the north end of the village, there was a house. It was Billy and Jacob's house. The sun shone through the coastal clouds as Carlisle and Jasper got out of the car. They would normally have sprinted to the shade but they remembered then, they didn't have to hide what they were here.

The wooden screen of the house was closed but the front door was ajar as Carlisle stepped onto the porch. The only sound was coming from the rumblings and chatter of a crowd sitting around the television. Enthusiastic male cheering erupted and Carlisle realized the living room must be full of people watching a sports game of some sort.

Carlisle and Jasper glanced at each other, for a moment they felt uncomfortably outnumbered by the home team. But nevertheless, Carlisle knocked on the screen door and called,

"Chief black?" The room suddenly fell quiet.

The door swung open and they saw Billy Black, seated in his wheelchair, Sam stood behind him.

Carlisle and Jasper now saw into the living room. At least 20 teenage boys were around the room, lounging on the armchairs and sofas. They all looked similar in their large muscle frames, black hair and eyes, tanned skin. Billy smiled in greeting but all the eyes that turned towards them did not reflect his smile. Except for Seth's of course, who's face quickly turned friendly when he recognized him.

"Hey it's the vampire doctor," he said.

"Come in Dr. Cullen, Jasper," Billy said, motioning to the screen door, which Sam held open.

They went into the crowded living room, Carlisle's expression neutral. Sam grabbed the TV remote and silenced the game

"Everyone out!" he ordered. "Game over! We need some privacy."

"Why don't you boys go to the Clearwater's?" Billy called to the group. "I'm sure Leah misses you," Laughter and rudeness erupted from the boys as they took off, away from the house.

They were now alone.

"Please sit down," said Billy to Carlisle and Jasper as he wheeled himself to the kitchen table where Sam sat.

They sat across the table from the two Quileute's.

Sam started, "Now, as Carlisle has informed me, there is supposed to be some sort of army of vampires invading Forks."

"Correct," Carlisle replied.

"New vampires?" Sam asked.

"Yes," said Carlisle.

"What does 'new' mean exactly?" asked Billy.

Jasper spoke,

"They will be unskilled in combat, but extremely strong and fast, beyond the norm. A fully matured vampire or wolf would not be able to use the same fighting technique on these vampires."

"This army was built by a vampire who wants to take her revenge on Edward-" Carlisle started.

"Edward?" Sam interceded, there was still pent up hatred in his gaze. "He is the last one I, or any of our pack would wish to help, Carlisle."

"This vampire wants to kill Bella and possibly all of us, to get revenge on him. You may not owe my son anything, but she did save you once. And Billy, you've known her as Charlie's daughter her whole life, that must mean something," Carlisle replied.

"So the vampire's intention is to kill Bella? You're asking that my pack help you defeat this army that's coming for her?"  
"We are asking that you help us defend this town that has meant so much to my family and yours for nearly a century. To put aside the mistrust our kinds have shared for so many years," Carlisle said. "As allies, we are asking you to do us this favor."

~o~o~o~

Edward and Bella came upon a familiar forest on a hill, surrounded by lilacs and ancient trees. Edward drove up the hidden roadway on the outskirts of town leading to what used to be the perfectly stunning sight of the 3 story white house, shaded by cedar trees and heard the sound of the sol duc river in the distance. The house was now damaged from the battle that had occurred there. But nevertheless it was the only place the Cullen's truly thought of as their home, and it would remain that way.

Bella was greeted graciously by Esme, Alice and Emmett. Rosalie, who Bella had just remembered hated her, even showed a smile of warmth, the most she'd given Bella ever.

"Perhaps he won't sulk so much when you're around," she said.

They had been fixing up the damaged house, cleaning up remains of destroyed furniture, rebuilding broken windows and walls. They worked efficiently at vampire speed.

Alice eventually volunteered to hunt with Bella and the two ran into the deep forest, away from the others, and then slowed to a walking pace.

"Alice," Bella said. "There is something I desperately need to tell someone, but I don't want Edward to know and he can read minds, so I don't think I should tell you it."  
Alice was silent for a moment and then gasped and said, "You kissed Riley didn't you!"

Bella shushed Alice and her eyes widened and she whispered, "How did you know?"  
Alice looked at Bella and said,

"I had the vision a few weeks ago, but I didn't know what to make of it so I didn't tell you and I managed not to think about it around Edward. Bella… why?"

Bella stopped walking and sunk down, her back pressed against the oak tree. Alice sat down too.

"There is something else I have to tell you, but you must promise that you will do your best not to let anyone find out, especially Edward," Bella said.

"I swear," Alice replied.

"I was in a bar, in some other state, in the middle of nowhere a few nights ago and… I lost control," Bella said.

Alice was silent for a minute,

"How bad was it?"

"About a dozen people," Bella replied with a shaky voice, she was still feeling the after affects of what she'd done.

"Oh my God, Bella-"

"You have to promise not to tell," Bella exclaimed.

"And I won't but, how did you get rid of all the evidence?" asked Alice.

"Riley smelled the blood and found me, then he burnt the bar to the ground," Bella said. "But the way he spoke to me, it wasn't judgmental it was reassuring. He made me feel like I didn't have to be ashamed of losing control over my thirst. He told me I would get better at hunting with practice; and when I decided to go south with him, we spent hour's just talking about our human lives. I just felt such a connection in that moment that, the kiss… it just happened. The part that scared me was, even though I did pull away, I didn't want to."

"I know, I must sound like the weak little girl who got swept off her feet by the first handsome stranger who crossed her path," Bella said.

"No. You had just killed Bella, and you'd only recently gotten all your painful human memories back; you were vulnerable and flooded with heightened vampire emotions. Riley couldn't have had better timing. But, I guess the question in all of this is, do you love Edward?" asked Alice.

"For a while after I got my memories back, I was more confused and upset than anything else. When I was with Riley however, I didn't even think about him. But when I saw him in the airport this morning, the way he looked at me. I think I might have fallen in love with him for the third time in my life."

"The third time?" Alice cocked her head to the side.

Bella cracked a smile,

"The first was when I was human, the second was right before I got my memory back, and the third was this morning."

"Did you love Riley, before you found out about him working for Victoria?" Alice asked.

"No, he was playing a part very well that's all. He was Victoria's puppet the entire time we were together. There's no way I could love him," Bella replied.

"So then what's stopping you from being with Edward?" she asked.

"Guilt I guess, and fear. Eventually Edward will find out about everything and I'm afraid he will be angry, or reject me," Bella responded.

Alice got up, "Trust me, I know my brother and that boy is head over heels in love with you. You are a newborn, he was expecting a lot more craziness on your part than you've lived up to, actually we all were. He will forgive you, and need I remind you that he's no saint either?"

"I find that hard to believe," Bella said, getting up too.

"It was just a kiss," said Alice.

"And the murder of a dozen innocent people," Bella said.

Alice raised an eyebrow,

"Really? A dozen people? Just because our family believes killing humans for their blood is wrong doesn't mean none of us have slipped up. Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, even Esme, have all killed before and Edward was gone for like 5 years on a murdering spree. No one will judge you."

Bella nodded, "You're right, I have to come clean with Edward about this. We'll put the past behind us, everything, including what happened when I was a human."

"Good," Alice said cheerfully. "Now we should hunt, your contacts have been burnt out by the venom and your newborn eyes are starting to creep me out. Maybe animal blood will get rid of the color."

~o~o~o~

Edward made his way up to the second floor of the house, it was his piano room. He could still feel the haunting sense this place brought him. The beautiful imperial grand piano was crushed to pieces. The keys were scattered on the floor, the headboard broken in half by the weight of whoever was thrown into it.

For some reason, this was the one thing that saddened Edward to see destroyed. Before Bella, he had spent so much time at this piano, composing pieces, getting lost in the music. Although he could get a new piano, he was still sad to see a large part of who he was, lost.

He got a bag and gathered up all the broken pieces, placing them in. Once he was finished he went downstairs to put it with the rest of the broken furniture outside. As he walked he asked his family, who were busy cleaning up the house,

"Where is Carlisle and Jasper?"

"La push, they are discussing the idea of the wolves helping us defeat the newborn army," said Rosalie.

"I hope they manage to," said Esme.

"Of course they will. Either way newborns are coming to invade their land. "Besides, I think fighting with wolves will be fun," Emmett said. "Better than fighting with mind reading brothers that cheat." He said this as he took a swipe at Edward's head, which Edward had already heard in Emmett's thoughts and dodged without even seeing his brother's hand coming towards him.

"See? He's a total cheater," Emmett said.

Edward chuckled and dodged more attacks from Emmett until he was finally grabbed hold of by his brother's enormous strength and unsuccessfully tried to release himself.

"Weakling," Emmett joked as he pushed his brother away, before Edward took the chance to attack from behind and Edward had him pinned to the ground.

"Hey!" Emmett exclaimed.

"You weren't paying attention," Edward replied.

The brothers chuckled lightheartedly with each other. Something that seemed like they hadn't done in a long time. For a moment it felt like the way things used to be, Edward and Bella's eyes caught each other for an instant. She and Alice were coming back from the woods. They must have been talking about something private because he instantly could sense that his sister was hiding her thoughts from him.  
To Edward's disappointment, Bella looked away and walked into the house to help with the cleanup.

~o~o~o~

Once night had fallen and the house, not including the obliterated garage, was spotless; all damages fixed, all broken furniture taken away and disposed of, Alice and Bella sat in the living room as Esme spoke to Carlisle on the phone in the kitchen.

"Carlisle, that's good news… everything's fine here, Bella's with us… I'll see you when you return home, love you, bye."

They had all heard the news; the pack would fight when the time came for battle against the newborns. Carlisle and Jasper were still driving back to the house.

Suddenly, Alice, seeing Edward in the doorway of the living room, suddenly got up, to Bella's surprise.  
"Well, you've had a long flight, it's about time _we all_ gave you some privacy," Alice said. And suddenly Esme had vanished too. As for Emmett and Rosalie, God knows where they were or what they were doing. Edward and Bella were alone.

Edward stood there, like a God-like statue, and then he moved towards her,

"I know, all that's happened in the past couple months has overwhelmed you greatly."

"It hasn't been boring to say the least," she replied.

Suddenly Edward was at her side on the sofa, he looked at her with big sun colored eyes, in them reflected a depth she had never seen before,

"Bella," he said, he took her hand in his. This little bit of intimacy would have sent her heart into flutters if she were still human.

"I know I have no right saying this after what I've put you through, in fact it's probably one of the most selfish things I've said in my entire life. But I can't keep myself from telling you that I'm in love with you, and that's never changed since the first day we spent together in our meadow, when you were human. My feelings have stayed to same all along."

She looked away she was overwhelmed again. Edward continued,

"And though it may seem impossible to get what we had back, I am willing to spend an eternity trying. But…I need to know if you feel the same way," he paused. "that you love me too."

Bella looked back at him, she was so shocked by what he'd said. Apart of her was jumping up and down in excitement, and another part of her trembled with anxiety.

"What about what you said, about me not being good for you?" Bella replied in almost a whisper. "The day you left."

"Everything I said that day was a lie. I wanted you to forget about me, to loathe me even, so that the separation would be easier. And you believed me so easily," he said gently.

"I guess it just never made sense that _you_ would love me, even as an awkward clumsy human," Bella said.

"Everyday I was away from you, I had to restrain myself from coming back," said Edward. "I thought, at the time, that a normal life was best for you."

So all those hurtful things he'd said had been a lie the whole time. Bella's hand, as if it had a mind of it's own, travelled up to Edward's perfectly smooth face to his cheek. Edward's hand went up to hers. The sensation between them was electric. Bella took a deep breath; she knew she would have to ruin the moment at one point or another,

"Edward there's something I need to tell you."

Bella was interrupted by the commotion coming from outside the house. Edward's face darkened and it looked as if vicious anger and rage threatened to rip right through him, but he kept under control. He must have been hearing someone's thoughts outside, thoughts he did not like. Bella and Edward went out to the front porch and saw Jasper and Emmett. They were both restraining a vampire outside the house. The vampire was barely fighting back, although his face looked stubbornly defiant and untrustworthy. Carlisle, who had gotten out of his black Mercedes, went up to the vampire and asked,

"What business of Victoria's do you have here?"

"Oh my God," said Bella under her breath. What was he doing here?

"Better answer now before you die," said Emmett, holding the vampire in an unbreakable grip.

The vampire that had been found near the Cullen house was Riley.


End file.
